LM&HTLMOODT. 


lEAI),  SAKTRET, 


COZZTMSIAJV  JEJ^ITIOJV. 


BEST  THOUGHTS 


AND 


DISCOURSE 


0^ 

D.  L.  Moo 


The  Iforfc  of  Ji^ foody  and  Sankey  as  £JrangelistSy  with 
Sketches  of  their'  Z^ives  arid  ^orti^aits  o?i  Steel, 


ABBIE  CLEMENS    MORROW. 
Introduction  by  Rev.   Emory  J.  Haynes. 

New   Yoke: 
N.    TIBBALS    &    SONS,    PUBLISHERS, 

37  Park  Row. 
1876. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1876,  by 

N.  TIBBALS  &  SONS, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C. 


ST.   JOHNLAND 

STEREOTYPE  FOUNDKY, 

SUFFOLK  CO.,  N.  T. 


Introduction, 

By  Eev.  Emory  J.  Haynes. 


In  the  brief  space  since  D.  L.  Moody  and  Ira.  D.  Sankey 
began  to  attract  more  than  local  attention,  their  lives  have 
been  sketched  and  scraps  of  their  personal  history  written  to 
an  extent  at  which  the  most  avid  craving  for  notoriety  could 
not  murmur. 

But,  in  point  of  fact,  even  the  general  pubUc  seems  to  have 
been  convinced  of  what  the  personal  friends  of  these  two  men 
early  felt  assured,  that  notoriety  constituted  no  part  of  their 
aim.  This  form  of  personal  aggrandizement  was  as  foreign 
to  their  purpose  as  money,  or  ease,  the  sight-seeing  of  travel, 
or  pampering  hospitality.  In  the  community  where  these 
words  are  being  written  the  two  comrades  have  recently 
passed  a  number  of  weeks,  seen  by  the  multitude,  seen  by  the 
few;  watched  as  they  stood  before  vast  audiences,  and  as  they 
sat  at  the  firesides  and  boards  of  our  homes;  and  from  every 
point  of  view  they  seem  as  void  of  personal  seeking  as  human 
nature  under  Divine  help  can  be  expected  to  present  itself. 
One  of  them  inlbrmed  us  that  when  they  stepped  upon  the 
platform  of  their  earliest  English  meeting,  the  working-man 
drew  near  to  see  what  might  be  the  trick;  for  it  seemed  in- 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

credible  that  two  Yankees  should  have  come  so  far  upon  no 
selfish  errand.  **One  has  an  organ  and  performs  on  that. 
The  other  tells  stories.  Let  us  see  where  '  the  make '  comes 
in."  But  they,  waiting  long  in  vain  for  baser  revelations, 
soon  became  convicted  and  converted.  If  there  have  been 
any,  in  the  two  large  American  cities  of  their  visiting,  watch- 
ing with  such  prying  and  invidious  eyes,  they  also  must  have 
long  .ago  been  persuaded  of  a  holier  and  only  pure  errand; 
for  the  universal  voice  in  our  streets  to-day  is  one  of  respect, 
widening  to  an  affection  which  glows  very  warm  and  change- 
less in  even  thousands  of  hearts. 

It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  a  sedulous  conceal- 
ment of  such  data  as  is  indispensable  to  any  thing  like  a  fair 
biography — of  facts  and  experiences,  of  opinions  and  their 
development;  which  letters  and  other  written  record  must 
furnish  for  a  memoir,  a  history  of  the  deceased,  but  which  a 
man's  own  lips  can  alone  supply  to  the  annalist  of  a  yet  living 
subject — has  been  the  invariable  habit  of  these  two  Workers. 
They  have  persistently  said:  "Let  us  alone.  Listen  rather 
to  our  message,  and  lend  a  hand  to  help  us  speak,  sing,  work 
for  Jesus." 

It  is  impossible  not  to  admire  such  self-abnegation.  It  is 
the  coming  in  of  quite  a  new  fashion  among  modern  religion- 
ists; or  rather,  like  all  fashion,  the  reproduction  of  the  old; 
that  old  garb  which  wrapped  about  and  sandaUed  and  girt 
the  dusty  Apostles  of  earlier  ages.  It  would  seem  we  ought 
to  respect  this  reticence  and  seclusion;  and  we  would,  were 
it  not  that,  so  is  human  nature,  concealment  heightens  curi- 
osity; or  better,  modest  worth  is  sure  to  win  attention,  since  it 
is  even  written;  whoso  seeketh  the  lowest  seat  shall  be  bid  go 


INTRODUCTION.  V 

higher;  the  last  first,  the  first  last.  Probably  no  shrewder 
course  could  have  been  chosen  to  awaken  a  wide  desire  to 
know  all  about  them  and  to  secure  far  and  fair  fame,  than  the 
one  taken  by  these  Evangelists,  without  any  such  design. 
Their  experience  and  example  might  be  salutary  if  pondered 
by  many  public  characters,  not  only  at  the  altar,  but  at  the 
tribunes  of  politics,  literature,  art,  and  social  life.  Alas ! 
Poor  Coriolanus ! 

The  main  reason,  however,  why  the  reader  should  be  chary 
of  detailed  and  lengthy  lives  of  the  revivalists  is  the  un- 
doubted fact  that  there  is  little  to  relate.  True,  every  life  is 
wonderful.  The  smallest,  humblest  career  is  filled  with  inci- 
dent all  too  vast  for  even  a  Boswell's  faithful  chronicling. 
There,  are  tragedies;  there,  plottings  or  honorable  delibera- 
tions graver  than  in  star  chambers  and  senates ;  there,  wasted 
moor  or  filled  gardens;  all  in  the  microcosm  of  the  obscurest 
Mansoul.  But  no  pen  ever  attempts  such  history.  And 
beyond  this  secret  realm,  common  to  us  all,  the  characters  of 
the  two  simple  men  joining  hands  to  cry  up  and  down  the 
land,  ' •  Kepent, "  present  small  material  for  story.  Their  glory 
is  that  God  chose  them,  two  smooth,  round  stones  from  the 
brook,  and  lying  side  by  side  with  multitudes,  to  execute 
wonders.  It  is  as  if  He  had  said:  Behold  what  I  can  do  with 
any  and  every  plain,  pure  heart,  all  given  up  to  me. 

Turn  therefore  to  the  perusal  of  the  word  which  has  been 
spoken;  what  it  was;  how  it  was.  It  has  not  been  a  strange, 
nor  a  wonderful  word.  In  this  country  it  has  not  always  pro- 
duced strange  nor  wonderful  effect.  The  British  public  was 
ripe  for  the  harvest.  God  chose  the  hour:  and  in  the  study 
of  the  Genesis  of  "revivals"  we  must  more  and  more  recog- 


VI  INTRODUCTION. 

nize  His  inscrutable  pleasure  as  the  first  great  cause.  Heaven 
had  become  impatient  over  ritualistic  and  materialistic  ten- 
dencies over  the  sea:  and  heaven  picked  up  two  plain  lives 
with  which  itself  turned  the  kingdom  upside  down.  Per- 
haps it  would  not  do  to  perpetuate  personal  pre-eminence;  it 
would  dishearten  the  faithful  ministry,  stumble  believers. 
Perhaps  another  weapon  will  be  singled  out  of  infinite  re- 
source, and  perhaps  the  same  shaU  yet  be  wondrously  power- 
ful. In  any  conclusion  the  study  of  those  simple  means  is 
more  than  curious.  May  God  make  them  blessings  to  many 
souls.  And  to  the  prayer  that  the  people  come,  and,  so  they 
come— it  matters  not  by  whose  lead — to  the  waiting  Christ,  we 
are  sure  none  more  heartily  than  this  noble-souled  preacher 
and  his  sweet  singer  will  say — Amen. 


CONTEE'TS. 


Chapter   I. 

EARLY   ASSOCIATIONS   ..... 

.          1 

Chapter   IT. 

FIRST   MISSIONARY   EFFORTS . 

.      6 

Chapter   III. 

MR.  Moody's  waifs 

.     11 

Chapter   IV. 

characteristic  incidents  .... 

.     17 

Chapter   V. 

alliance  of  moody  and  sankey 

.    25 

Chapter   VI. 

OVER  the  sea  

.     29 

Chapter  VII. 

home  again 

.     38 

Discourse   I. 

CHRIST    seeking    SINNERS      .... 

.    45 

Discourse   II. 

SINNERS    SEEKING    CHRIST      .... 

.     6S 

Moody's  thoughts     ..... 

.    41 

THE    crowning   WATCH-NIGHT    OF    THE    CENTURY 

.     44 

Moody  s  Life  and  Work. 


CHAPTER   I. 

EARLY    ASSOCIATIONS. 

DwiGHT  Lyman  Moody — the  sixth  child  of  Edwin 
and  Betsy  Moody — was  born  on  the  5th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1837,  in  Northfield,  Mass.,  in  the  same  district 
which,  a  little  more  than  a  century  before,  was  the 
scene  of  the  great  revival  under  Jonathan  Edwards. 

When  he  was  only  four  years  old  his  father  sud- 
denly died.  Mr.  Moody,  having  generously  helped 
a  friend  and  lost  much  money  by  him,  was  obliged 
to  mortgage  the  homestead,  and  all  that  was  left 
for  the  support  of  his  widow,  and  her  nine  children 
— the  eldest  but  thirteen — was  a  httle  home  on  the 
mountain  slope,  and  an  acre  or  two  of  land.  But 
Mrs.  Moody  was  brave  and  persevering,  and,  with 
a  little  assistance  from  her  brother  in  Boston  tow- 
ards paying  the  interest  on  the  mortgage,  kept  her 
little  family  together  and  above  positive  want. 

Little  D wight,  though  very  generous,  and  fond 
of  his  mother,  was  not  naturally  a  religious  child. 
Prayer  was  his  dernier  ressort. 

Once  when  he  was  crawling  under  a  fence  the 


2J  MOODY  S    LIFE    AND    WORK. 

rails  fell  down  and  caught  him  and  he  conld  not 
extricate  himself.  He  struggled  until  nearly  ex- 
hausted, then  called  loudly  for  help  ;  but,  it  being 
some  distance  from  any  house,  no  one  heard  him. 
When  he  did  finally  reach  home  he  gave  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  his  accident: 

"I  tried  and  tried,  but  I  couldn't  lift  them  aw- 
ful heavy  rails  ;  then  I  hollered  for  help,  but  no- 
body ca.me  ;  and  then  I  began  to  think  I  should 
have  to  die,  away  up  there  on  the  mountain,  all 
alone.  But  I  happened  to  think  that,  maybe,  God 
would  help  me ;  and  so  I  asked  Him.  And  after 
that  I  could  lift  the  rails,  just  as  easy." 

As  the  childi-en  grew  old  enough  they  were  sent 
to  the  Unitarian  Sabbath-school,  in  the  village, 
about  a  mile  distant.  On  Sabbath  evenings  Mrs. 
Moody  would  gather  her  little  flock  around  her 
and  read  to  them  out  of  the  books  which  they 
brought  from  the  Sunday -school.  If  the  girls  had 
been  more  than  ordinarily  troublesome,  or  the  boys 
unusually  disobedient,  it  was  marvellous  how  these 
same  Sunday-school  books  knew  all  about  it,  and 
would  counsel,  or  reprove,  or  condemn,  each  spe- 
cial case.  To  be  sure,  it  was  hard  for  the  children 
afterward  to  "  find  the  place,"  when  they  chanced 
to  take  up  the  book,  but  they  had  enjoj^ed  the 
reading  none  the  less ;  and,  very  likely,  Mrs. 
Moody's  improvised  stories  were  quite  as  effica- 
cious in  teaching  her  children  to  be  good,  as  would 
have  been  the  original  ones,  in  these  same  books 


EARLY    ASSOCIATIONS.  6 

published  by  the  Snii clay-school  Union.  Some- 
times, when  her  patience  was  sorely  tried  by  the 
rebelliousness  of  her  children,  she  would  go  away 
and  in  secret  pray  for  grace  and  strength  to  lead 
her  little  ones  aright ;  and  said  she,  "  When  I 
would  come  back  they  would  all  be  good  children 
again." 

She  used  to  repeat  a  verse  of  a  hymn,  or  a  text 
of  Scripture,  at  the  table,  and  teach  her  children  to 
say  it  in  concert  after  her. 

Dwight  worked  on  the  farm  during  the  sum- 
mer, and  went  to  school  in  the  winter,  until  his 
eighteenth  year.  About  this  time  he  went  to  Bos- 
ton. His  mother's  brother  offered  him  a  position 
in  his  boot  and  slioe  establishment  on  three  con- 
ditions :  His  uncle  was  to  choose  his  boarding- 
place;  he  was  not  to  go  at  night  to  any  place  of 
which  his  uncle  did  not  approve;  and  he  was  to 
attend  regularly  the  Mount  Yernon  Church  and 
Sabbath-school. 

In  this  church  he  listened  to  a  sermon  which  had 
the  effect  of  making  him  exceedingly  uneasy;  he 
thought  some  one  had  been  informing  the  minis- 
ter about  him  and  resolved  not  to  go  again.  But 
respect  for  his  promise  to  his  uncle  influenced  him 
to  return  and  the  serious  impression  was  con- 
tinued; though  for  some  time  he  felt  no  particular 
imterest  in  either  church  or  school.  His  Sabbath- 
school  teacher,  Mr.  Kimball,  considered  him  a  very 
unpromising  pupil.     But  upon  young  Moody's  ven- 


4  MOODY  S    LIFE    AND    WORK. 

turing,  one  Sunday,  the  question,  "  That  Moses  waa 
what  you  would  call  a  pretty  smart  sort  of  a  man, 
wasn't  he  ?  "  he  answered  the  young  man  in  a  way 
which  gained  his  interest  and  confidence.  Soon 
after,  Mr.  Kimball  called  at  his  pupil's  store;  and, 
after  conversing  with  him,  asked  him  if  he  would 
not  like  to  become  a  Christian.  He  answered  him 
frankly  and  freely,  commenced  seeking  the  Saviour, 
and  soon  after  was  converted. 

Years  after,  when  Mr.  Moody  was  holding  some 
meetings  in  Boston,  a  son  of  this  same  teacher  in- 
troduced himself  to  him.  Mr.  Moody  inquired  if 
he  were  a  Christian.  On  his  replying  in  the  nega- 
tive, Mr.  Moody  asked  him,  "  How  old  are  you  ?  " 

"  Seventeen." 

"Just  my  age  when  your  father  led  me  to  Christ; 
and  that  was  just  seventeen  years  ago  this  very 
day.  Now  I  want  to  pay  him  by  leading  his  son  to 
the  Saviour." 

The  youth  was  much  moved.  Mr.  Moody  prayed 
with  him  and  obtained  a  promise  from  him  that  he 
would  become  a  Christian.  Soon  after  Mr.  Moody 
received  a  letter  from  his  old  teacher  informing 
him  that  his  son  had  found  the  Saviour. 

Wishing  to  make  a  public  profession  of  his  faith 
Dwight  applied  for  admission  to  the  Mount  Ver- 
non church.  The  committee  who  considered  his 
application  for  admission,  recommended  him  to  de- 
lay a  public  profession  until  he  could  more  thor- 
oughly acquaint  himself  with  the  fundamental  doc- 


EARLY    ASSOCIATIONS.  0 

trines  of  Christianity,  as  he  was  lamentably  unac- 
quainted with  them.  After  six  months  he  again 
presented  himself,  and  was  received  into  the  church 
at  the  May  Communion,  in  1855. 

Being  very  zealous  to  enter  the  Master's  service 
he  rose,  in  a  prayer-meeting  which  he  attended 
soon  after,  and  offered  some  remarks.  When  the 
meeting  was  over  the  pastor  took  him  aside  and 
advised  him  not  to  speak  in  the  meetings  again,  but 
serve  God  in  some  other  way. 

Believing  himself  in  the  right,  undaunted,  he  con- 
tinued to  attend  the  prayer-meetings,  making  brief 
remarks  as  at  first.  On  different  occasions  he  met 
with  a  similar  frank  rebuke  from  many  of  the  good 
people  of  the  church,  who,  feeling  themselves  no 
great  anxiety  for  sinners,  could  not  appreciate  the 
young  convert's  zealous  desire  to  help  his  neighbors 
to  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Probably  this  want  of  sympathy  first  led  young 
Moody  to  turn  his  thoughts  toward  the  great  West, 
where  success  awaited  those  who  had  bravery  and 
strength  to  win  it. 


CHAPTER  11. 

FIRST   MISSIONARY  EFFORTS. 

About  a  year  after  liis  conversion,  Mr.  Moody 
removed  to  Chicago  and  obtained  a  situation  in  a 
shoe  store. 

A  gentleman,  then  a  clerk  in  this  same  establish- 
ment, says  of  him,  "Moody  v^as  a  first-rate  sales- 
ma,n.  It  was  his  particular  pride  to  make  his  col- 
umn foot  up  the  largest  on  the  book,  not  only  in 
the  way  of  sales,  but  also  of  profits.  He  took  par- 
ticular delight  in  trading  with  notional  or  unrea- 
sonable people;  especially  when  they  made  great 
show  of  smartness  and  cunning,  and  thought  them- 
selves extraordinarily  wise.  Nothing  was  ever  mis- 
represented in  the  smallest  particular;  but  when  it 
came  to  be  a  sharpness  of  wit  between  buyer  and 
seller.  Moody  generally  had  the  best  of  it." 

Several  of  the  clerks  lodged  in  the  store ;  and 
one  of  the  favorite  pastimes  of  the  3^oung  men, 
after  the  hour  for  closing  the  establishment,  was 
to  turn  their  place  of  business  into  a  hall  of  debate; 
among  the  chief  subjects  of  which  were  theology 
and  amusements.  Moody  disliked  theatres,  cards. 
billiards,  and  all  such  amusements.  It  is  related, 
by  one  of  his  fellow-clerks    that  comino-  into  the 


FIRST-  MISSIONARY    EFFORTS. 


store  one  night  after  prayer-meeting,  he  found 
two  of  the  boys  playing  checkers.  He  instantly 
grasped  the  board,  scattering  the  checkers,  and 
dashed  it  to  pieces;  then — before  a  word  of  re- 
monstrance could  be  spoken — dropped  upon  his 
knees  and  commenced  to  pray. 

He  was,  however,  partial  to  athletic  sports,  inno- 
cent practical  jokes,  or  a  friendly  trial  of  strength, 
and  would  always  laugh  as  heartily  when  Conquered 
as  when  victorious. 

Arriving  at  Chicago,  he  joined  a  congregational 
church  where  he  rented  four  pews,  and  kept  them 
filled  each  Sabbath  with  young  men.  He  attended 
the  prayer-meetings,  exhorted  and  prayed.  Here 
he  was  presented  with  the  same  advice  he  had 
received  in  Boston;  to  leave  the  exhorting  and 
praying  to  those  who  understood  it. 

He  soon  found  a  little  Methodist  church  where 
the  people  were  more  congenial,  and  joined  a  band 
of  young  men  who  used  to  go,  on  Sabbath  morn- 
ings, to  hotels  and  saloons  and  distribute  tracts, 
and  invite  the  peoi)le  to  divine  worship. 

On  one  of  his  tract-distributing  tours  he  found  a 
little  Mission  School  and  asked  for  a  class  in  it. 
In  answer  to  his  application  the  superintendent 
informed  him  that  there  were  already  twelve  teach- 
ers and  only  sixteen  pupils;  but  that  he  would  be  al- 
lowed to  teach  a  class  if  he  could  gather  it  himself. 

He  went  out  into  the  streets  and  by  personal  ap- 
plication succeeded  in  bringing  in  nearly  a  score  of 


8  MOODY  S    LIFE   AND   WORK. 

rough,  filthy,  half-naked  urchins,  and  a  place  was 
assigned  him. 

But,  enjoying  the  position  of  recruiting  officer 
better  than  that  of  teacher,  he  handed  his  class 
over  to  another  gentleman,  and  continued  his  work ; 
bringing  in  fresh  supx^lies  until  the  school  was  filled. 

Then  was  suggested  the  idea  of  organizing  a 
separate  school  of  his  own,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
lower  classes.  He  rented  a  hall — used  on  Saturday 
nights  for  dancing — near  the  North  Side  Market, 
where  were  many  Catholics  and  Germans,  and  com- 
menced his  school  among  the  half-starved,  drunk- 
en, blasphemous,  degraded  mortals  in  this  Five 
Points  of  Chicago.  This  school — which  in  one  year 
reached  to  over  six  hundred  and  soon  increased  to 
a  thousand — was  held  in  this  hall  for  six  years,  and 
has  become  one  of  the  most  noted  in  the  West. 

In  his  benevolent  visitations  from  house  to  house, 
Mr.  Moody  was  frequently  interfered  with  by  the 
rougher  people,  and  occasionally  was  obliged  to 
flee  for  his  life. 

It  is  said  that  upon  one  occasion  he  was  cornered 
by  three  ruffians  who  threatened  to  kill  him. 

"Look  here,"  said  he,  "give  a  fellow  a  chance  to 
say  his  prayers,  won't  you  ?  " 

They  acquiesced,  and  failing  upon  his  knees  he 
prayed  so  earnestly  for  his  persecutors  that  they, 
quietly  left  the  room,  and  he  took  with  him  to  Sun- 
day-school the  children  he  came  for. 

Mr.  Moody  felt  that  to  make  a  school  profitable. 


FIRST    MISSIONARY    EFFORTS.  9 

« 

to  such  a  crowd  of  disorderly  little  urcliins,  it  must 
be  lively  and  attractive.  He  liad  none  of  the  ideal 
appliances  necessary  to  a  modern  Sunday-school. 
But  he  loved  children  dearly — and  the  more  de- 
graded they  were  the  more  interest  he  seemed  to 
take  in  them,  and  such  trifles  as  the  youug  ui'chins 
whistling,  pulling  each  other's  hair,  turning  somer- 
saults, or  crying,  "Want  a  shine,  Mister,"  "Black 
yer  boots,"  etc.,  had  no  power  to  ruffle  his  temper. 

He  succeeded  in  persuading  two  gentlemen,  Mr. 
Trudeau  and  Mr.  Stillson,  who  were  good  singers, 
to  come  and  help  him.  He  also  pressed  Mr.  J.  Y. 
Farwell,  a  prominent  business  man  of  executive 
ability,  into  the  service  as  superintendent  of  the 
school. 

For  the  first  few  Sabbaths  they  made  no  effort  at 
regular  instruction,  but  endeavored  to  gain  the  at- 
tention and  confidence  of  the  childi-en  by  telling 
them  stories,  and  singing;  afterward  the  school 
was  organized  and  conducted  much  in  the  usual 
way.  As  the  mission  became  notorious  and  popu- 
lar, there  was  no  lack  of  teachers. 

Mr.  Moody  begaij  to  be  conscious  of  the  defects 
in  his  education,  and  his  lack  of  Scripture  knowl- 
edge. He  had  been  accustomed  to  read  the  Bible 
because  he  loved  it;  now,  he  commenced  studying 
it,  chapter  by  chapter,  spelling  out  the  hard  words, 
and  skipping  the  ones  he  could  not  master.  Those 
who  did  not  know  him  during  his  first  efforts  at 
evangelization  can  never  appreciate  through  what 


10  Moody's  life  and  work. 

• 
difficulties  lie  lias  struggled  up  to  his  present  re- 
markable power. 

At  a  Canada  convention,  an  old  friend  said  of 
him,  '^  The  first  time  I  ever  saw  him  was  at  a  meet- 
ing in  a  little  old  shanty  that  had  been  abandoned 
by  a  saloon-keeper.  Mr.  Moody  had  got  the  place 
to  hold  a  meeting  in  at  night.  I  went  there  a  little 
late;  and  the  first  thing  I  saw  was  a  man  standing 
with  a  few  tallow  candles  around  him,  holding  a 
negro  boy,  and  trying  to  read  to  him  the  story  of 
the  Prodigal  Son;  and  a  great  many  of  the  words 
he  could  not  make  out,  and  had  to  skip.  I  thought, 
If  the  Lord  can  ever  use  such  an  instrument  as  that 
for  His  honor  and  glory,  it  will  astonish  me.  After 
that  meeting  was  over  Mr.  Moody  said  to  me,  '  Eey- 
nolds,  I  have  got  only  one  talent :  I  have  no  educa- 
tion, but  I  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  I  want 
to  do  something  for  Him;  and  I  want  you  to  pray 
for  me.'  I  have  never  ceased  from  that  day  to  this, 
morning  and  night,  to  pray  for  that  devoted  Chris- 
tian soldier.  I  have  watched  him,  have  had  counsel 
with  him,  and  know  him  thoroughly;  and,  for  con- 
sistent walk  and  conversation,  I  have  never  met  a 
man  to  equal  him.  It  astounds  me  when  I  look 
back  and  see  what  Mr.  Moody  was  thirteen  years 
ago,  and  then  what  he  is  under  God  to-day — shak- , 
ing  Scotland  to  its  very  centre,  and  reaching  now 
over  to  Ireland.  The  last  time  I  heard  from  him, 
his  injunction  was,  'Pray  for  me  every  day;  pray 
now  that  God  will  keep  me  humble.'" 


CHAPTER  III. 

MR.    MOODY'S    WAIFS. 

Mr.  Moody's  pupils  grew  very  miicli  attaclied  to 
him  and  some  of  tliem  very  zealous  for  tlie  honor 
of  the  school.  One  day  an  urchin  who  had  been 
caught  with  the  young  evangehst's  sweets — he  used 
to  carry  a  quantity  of  maple  sugar  around  with 
him  to  entice  the  children — came  into  the  school 
and  sat  down  with  his  cap  on.  A  lad,  who  had 
been  some  time  a  member  of  the  mission,  walking 
in,  saw  the  new  recruit  with  his  cap  on.  He  de- 
liberately stepped  up  to  him,  snatched  off  the  offend- 
ing article  and,  striking  him  a  blow  in  the  face  with 
it  which  felled  him  to  the  floor,  said,  "  I'll  learn  you 
better  than  to  wear  your  cap  in  this  school,"  and 
marched  away,  to  his  place,  with  the  air  of  one  who 
had  performed  a  meritorious  act. 

One  Sabbath  afternoon  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  eldest 
pupils  came  to  him  for  advice.  His  father,  a  Roman 
Catholic,  was  bitterly  opposed  to  the  mission,  and, 
every  Sunday  afternoon,  in  a  drunken  frenzy,  would 
give  him  an  unmerciful  beating.  He  had  endured 
this  for  several  successive  weeks. 

Mr.  Moody  advised  him  to  pray.     This  he  did. 

Upon  reaching  home  his  father  came  toward  him 


12  Moody's  life  and  work. 

with  birch  uplifted  ready  to  give  him  the  accustomed 
flogging. 

Quietly  taking  off  his  coat,  the  boy  said,  "you 
have  always  been  kind  to  me,  father,  when  not  in 
liquor:  it  is  not  my  father  which  beats  me  every 
Sunday,  but  whiskey,  so  now  I  am  going  to  fight  the 
whiskey." 

This  was  but  adding  fuel  to  the  fire.  A  sharp 
contest  ensued  but  whiskey  was  so  badly  conquered 
that  ever  after  the  father  allowed  his  boy  to  attend 
the  school  unmolested. 

Mr.  Moody  did  not  attempt  the  degree  of  order 
in  his  mission  which  would  be  necessary  in  an  ordi- 
nary Sunday-school,  but  there  was  a  big.  bold  fellow 
who  tried  his  patience  sorely.  He  could  neither  be 
entreatbd,  nor  frightened,  nor  shamed  into  obedi- 
ence, but  grew  constantly  worse.  The  teachers  held 
a  consultation,  and  thought  he  ought  to  be  dis- 
missed; but  this  was  contrary  to  Mr.  Moody's  ideal 
of  the  Gospel,  and  they  separated  without  arriving 
at  any  definite  plan  of  action. 

The  next  Sunday  came  and  with  it  this  same  burly 
boy  more  noisy  than  ever.  There  was  fear  that  he 
would  actually  break  up  the  school. 

Mr.  Moody  came  suddenly  upon  the  culprit  in  the 
vestibule,  seized  him  by  both  arms,  lifted  him  from 
his  feet,  took  him  to  a  class-room,  locked  the  door 
and — thrashed  him. 

This  was  not  in  the  least  an  easy  matter,  for  the  of- 
fender was  agile,  and  vigorous,  and  fierce,  as  an  un« 


MR.   Moody's  waifs,  13 

tamed  animal.  But  Mr.  Moody  proved  the  stronger, 
and  when  they  came  into  the  school-room  the  pupil 
was  completely  conquered  and  reduced  to  subjection. 

Mr.  Moody  said,  afterward,  to  a  teacher,  "  It  was 
hard  work  but  I  think  we  have  saved  him." 

A  great  event  in  the  history  of  this  school  was  a 
visit  from  President  Lincoln.  That  great  man  left 
a  half-finished  dinner,  and  a  distinguished  company, 
to  be  present  at  a  session  of  Mr.  Moody's  scliooL 
While  in  the  carriage,  on  the  way,  Mr.  Lincoln 
asked  not  to  be  invited  to  speak  to  the  school. 
But  upon  his  introduction  as  the  president  of  the 
United  States,  the  excitement  of  those  rough  scions 
of  American  citizenship  was  uncontrollable,  and 
yielding  to  their  enthusiastic  clamoring  he  made 
a  Sunday-school  sj^eech  for  the  first  and  last  time 
in  his  life. 

There  was,  however,  nothing  of  religion  in  his 
address.  It  was  not  until  afterward,  when  the 
weight  of  a  nation's  civil  war  was  crushing  him, 
that  he  himself  learned  the  truth  and  value  of  re- 
ligion. And  his  gTcat,  honest  nature  would  never 
allow  him  to  stoop  to  speak  upon  a  subject  beyond 
his  experience  or  understanding. 

Afterward,  when  the  war  broke  out,  and  Lincoln 
called  for  volunteers,  sixty  of  these  same  boys  en- 
rolled themselves  in  the  Aimy  of  the  Republic. 

In  his  visitations  fi'om  house  to  house  Mr.  Moody 
met  very  many  wretched  families.  One  Sunday 
morning  going  into  a  miserable  attic  he  found  the 


14  Moody's  life  and  work. 

wife  half  crazy  from  rum,  the  Imsbancl  on  the  verga 
of  delirium  tremens,  and  the  children  haK  famished 
for  want  of  food.  He  went  out  and  procured  them 
some  nourishment.  Then  he  tallied  to  them  on 
temperance,  and  persuaded  the  man  to  sign  the 
pledge,  a  copy  of  which  he  had  with  him. 

The  following  Sabbath  all  the  family  attended 
the  mission.  Passing  that  way,  a  day  or  two  after- 
ward, the  man  called  to  him  from  the  window,  threw 
a  silver  coin  to  him  and  said,  "  I  hke  that  Sunday- 
school  and  I  want  to  take  a  little  stock  in  it." 

That  reformed  inebriate  is  now  a  Christian  gen- 
tleman with  a  thriving  business  and  a  dehghtful 
home  of  his  own. 

One  Saturday  night  Mr.  Moody,  with  his  friend 
Mr.  Stillson,  entered  a  drinking  saloon  and — while 
the  men  were  carousing  and  swearing — asked  to 
leave  some  religious  papers  with  those  who  were 
drinking.  Permission  being  granted  they  entered 
into  conversation  with  the  bar-keeper,  and  gradu- 
ally learned  that  his  father  and  mother  were  Chris- 
tian people.  Simultaneously  they  asked  the  ques- 
tion, "Do  your  parents  knovf  that  you  are  selling 
liquor  ?  " 

The  man  was  evidently  touched  and  softened. 
They  spoke  with  him  kindly  and  bade  him  *'good 
night." 

They  had  not  yet  reached  home  when  they  felt 
that  they  had  failed  in  their  duty  in  not  prayiug 
with  the  bar-tender.     So  they  turned  back,  re-en 


MR.  Moody's  waifs.  15 

tered  tlie  saloon,  and  asked  the  keeper's  forgiveness 
for  not  praying  with  him. 

Then  Mr.  Moody  knelt  down  and  offered  a  prayer 
of  which  Mr.  Stillson  says —  ^ 

"I  never  heard  Moody  pray  like  that  before,  it 
seemed  as  if  he  was  baptized  and  inspired  by  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

Two  weeks  afterward  they  met  him  in  the  street, 
when  he  told  thsm  he  had  given  up  drinking, 
closed  his  liquor  saloon,  and  would  rather  die  in 
the  alms-house  than  have  any  thing  more  to  do 
with  liquor. 

One  trouble,  a  cause  of  serious  annoyance  to  Mr. 
Moody,  was  the  Catholic  boys  breaking  the  windows 
of  his  building  and  disturbing  his  meetings. 

At  length,  when  his  patience  was  exhausted,  he 
called  upon  Bishop  Duggan,  the  Komish  prelate  of 
the  city,  and  stated  his  cause  of  complaint.  '  Sur- 
prised at  his  fearlessness  and  zeal  the  bishop  prom- 
ised that  thereafter  the  boys  in  his  church  should  be 
properly  restrained. 

Emboldened  by  the  bishop's  kindly  answer  Mr. 
Moody  then  preferred  a  strange  request. 

He  said,  "I  often  come  across  sick  people  who 
are  Eoman  Catholics.  I  should  be  glad  to  pray 
with  them  and  relieve  them,  but  they  are  so  suspi- 
cious of  me  they  will  not  allow  me  to  come  near 
them.  Now,  bishop,  won't  you  give  me  a  good 
word  to  those  jDCople;  it  will  help  me  amazingly  in 
my  work." 


16  Moody's  life  and  work. 

The  bishop  replied,  "  I  will  be  most  happy  to  give 
the  recommendation  if  yon  will  join  the  Catholic 
Chni'ch,  you  seem  to  be  too  good  and  valuable  a 
man  to  be  a  heretic." 

"  I  am  afraid  that  would  hinder  me  in  my  work 
among  the  Protestants,"  answered  Mr.  Moody. 

"  Not  at  all,"  returned  the  prelate. 

"  What,"  said  the  evangelist,  "  do  you  mean  to  tell 
me  that  I  could  go  to  the  noon-prayer-meeting,  and 
pray  with  all  kinds  of  Christian  people — Baptists, 
Methodists,  Congregationalists,  every  denomination, 
just  as  I  do  now  ?  " 

"Oh  yes,  if  it  were  necessary,  you  might  do 
that." 

"  So,  then.  Catholics  and  Protestants  can  pray  to- 
gether, can  they  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"Well,  bishop,  this  is  a  very  important  matter. 
No  one  wants  to  belong  to  the  true  church  more 
than  I  do.  I  wish  you  would  j)ray  for  me  right  here 
that  God  would  show  me  His  true  church  and  help 
me  to  be  a  worthy  member  of  it." 

The  bishop  could  not  very  well  refuse,  so  they 
kneeled  down  together  and  he  prayed  very  kindly 
for  the  heretic,  and,  afterward,  the  heretic  prayed 
earnestly  for  him. 

The  bishop  prohibited  his  wild  parishioners  from 
breaking  any  more  of  Moody's  prayer-meeting  win- 
dows, and  from  that  time  until  his  decease  Bishoj^ 
Duggan  was  a  good  friend  tt  Mr  Moody. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CHARACTERISTIC    INCIDENTS. 

Geadually,  Mr.  Mood3''s  heart,  and  thought,  and 
time,  were  so  given  to  his  missionary  labors  that  he 
took  very  little  interest  in  his  business  and  decided 
to  give  up  his  cherished  plan  of  making  a  fortune 
and  devote  his  whole  time  to  his  work. 

"How  do  you  expect  to  live?"  inquired  a  friend. 

"  God  will  provide  if  he  wishes  me  to  keep  on  ; 
and  I  will  keep  on  until  I  am  obliged  to  stop,"  was 
his  answer. 

He  had  saved  about  a  thousand  dollars  but,  with 
his  numerous  charities,  this  soon  disappeared.  He 
was  at  last  obliged  to  sleep  upon  the  benches  in  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  hall  because  he 
had  no  money  with  which  to  pay  for  lodgings  else- 
where. He  slept  there  with  money  in  his  purse 
which  friends,  not  knowing  his  circumstances,  had 
given  him  to  use  in  his  work,  but  w^hich  he  was  too 
conscientious  to  take  for  his  own  personal  expenses. 

Since  that  time  he  has  never  received  a  salary 
from  any  individual,  nor  entered  into  any  business 
or  speculation.  Yet  he  has  never  known  actual  want. 
God  has  cared  for  him  and  his  family.  Friends  con- 
stantly insist  upon  supplying  him  with  all  the  neces- 
sary comforts  of  life. 
2 


18  Moody's  life  and  work. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion  a  new  direc- 
tion was  given  to  Mr.  Moody's  labors.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Chicago  was  a  large  camp  where  he  would 
go,  night  after  night,  seeking  to  bring  the  soldiers 
under  the  influence  of  divine  grace.  Subsequently 
he  was  in  the  service  of  the  Christian  Commission, 
as  president  of  the  executive  branch  for  Chicago. 

During  the  four  years  of  carnage  and  death  he 
labored  and  travelled  indefatigably,  supplying  the 
soldiers  with  comforts,  and  pointing  the  dying  to 
the  Saviour. 

A  Christian  Commissioner  gives  the  following  re- 
sult of  his  teaching  the  soldiers  faith  in  prayer  for 
temporal  supj)lies: 

"  One  night,  a  party  of  our  men  found  themselves 
on  a  battle-field,  in  charge  of  a  great  many  wounded 
soldiers,  who,  by  the  sudden  retreat  of  the  army, 
were  left  wholly  without  shelter  or  supplies.  Hav- 
ing done  their  best  for  the  poor  fellows — bringing 
them  water  from  a  distant  brook,  and  searching  the 
haversacks  of  the  dead  for  rations — they  began,  to 
say  to  themselves,  and  one  another,  *  These  weak 
and  Avounded  men  must  have  food,  or  they  will  die. 
The  army  is  out  of  reach,  and  there  is  no  village  for 
many  miles :  what  are  we  to  do  ? ' 

" '  Pray  to  God  to  send  us  bread,'  said  one. 

"  That  night,  in  the  midst  of  the  deaci  and  dying, 
they  held  a  little  prayer-meeting,  telling  the  Lord 
all  about  the  case,  and  begging  Him  to  send  them 
bread  immediately  ;  though  from  whence  it  could 


CHARACTEIIISTIC    INCIDENTS.  19 

come  they  had  not  the  most  remote  idea.  All  night 
long  they  plied  their  work  of  mercy.  With  the  lirst 
ray  of  dawn  the  sound  of  an  approaching  wagon 
caught  their  ears;  and  presently,  through  the  mists 
of  the  morning,  appeared  a  great  Dutch  farm  wag- 
on, piled  to  the  very  top  with  loaves  of  bread. 

"  On  their  asking  the  driver  where  he  came  from, 
and  who  sent  him,  he  replied: 

" '  When  I  went  to  bed  last  night  I  knew  that  the 
army  was  gone,  and  I  could  not  sleep  for  thinkiug 
of  the  poor  fellows  who  always  have  to  stay  behind. 
Something  seemed  to  say  to  me,  "  Whafc  will  those 
poor  fellows  do  for  something  to  eat?"  It  came  to 
me  so  strong  that  I  waked  up  my  old  wife,  and  told 
her  what  was  the  matter.  We  had  only  a  little  bread 
in  the  house;  and  while  my  wife  was  making  some 
more  I  took  my  team  and  went  around  to  all  my 
neighbors,  making  them  get  up  and  give  me  all  the 
bread  in  their  houses,  telhng  them  it  was  for  the 
wounded  soldiers.  Wlien  I  got  home  my  wagon 
was  full,  my  old  wife  piled  her  baking  on  the  top, 
and  I  started  off  to  bring  the  bread  to  the  boys,  feel- 
ing just  as  if  the  Lord,  Himself,  was  sending  me.' " 

Mr.  Moody  was  on  the  battle-fields  of  Shiloh, 
Pittsburg  Landing,  Murfreesboro;  with  the  army  in 
mao3^  different  places,  and  was  among  the  first  to 
enter  Richmond,  where  with  undiminished  zeal  he 
ministered  alike  to  loyalists  and  rebels. 

The  war  being  ended  he  again  gave  his  undivided 
attention  to  missionary  work,  in  Chicago.     He  had 


20  Moody's  life  and  work. 

now  a  commodious  chapel  in  Illinois  street  erected 
at  a  cost  of  $20,000 — which  money  he  had  himself 
collected.  He  was  President  of  the  Chicago  Y.  M. 
C.  A.,  and  calls  for  him  to  attend  religious  conven- 
tions and  revival  meetings  were  very  frequent.  But 
his  chief  work  was  in  his  own  church,  one  peculiar- 
ity of  which  was  every  member  having  some  specified 
work  to  do.  It  is  said  that  the  bell  in  the  tower — 
a  gift  from  a  New-York  friend — used  to  ring  every 
night  in  the  week  for  a  men's  meeting,  or  mother's 
meeting,  or  Bible  meeting,  or  temperance  meeting, 
or  stranger's  meeting,  or  a  meeting  of  some  kind. 

One  morning  Mr.  Moody  observed  a  stranger 
standing  on  the  corner  near  his  church,  apparently 
with  nothing  to  do  and  nowhere  to  go,  and  going 
up  to  him  and  handing  him  a  number  of  papers 
said  very  pleasantly,  "  Here,  take  this  pile  of  papers 
and  standing  at  that  corner  give  one  to  every  body 
that  passes  by." 

The  stranger,  pleased  to  hear  a  friendly  voice  and 
have  something  to  do,  took  them  and  gave  them 
out  as  directed,  joined  Moody's  church,  and  has 
been  since  a  most  effective  worker. 

Though  bodily  weariness  occasionally  overcame 
him  he  would  recover  his  strength  and  spirits  after 
a  very  brief  season  of  rest. 

Col.  Hammond,  a  friend  of  his,  gives  the  follow- 
ing incident: 

"  Mr.  Moody  came  to  me  one  Sunday,  after  morn- 
ing service,  seemingly  quite  tired  out.     He  threw 


CHARACTERISTIC    INCIDENTS.  21 

himself  into  a  chair  and  burst  out — '  I  am  used  up 
— can't  think,  or  speak,  or  do  any  thing  else.  There 
is  my  meeting  at  the  church  to-night — ^j^ou  must 
take  it.     I  have  absolutely  nothing  left  in  me.' 

"Knowing  that  he  never  asked  help  unless  he 
needed  it,  I  promised  to  take  the  service  off  his 
hands.  When  the  time  came  I  went  down  to  the 
church,  and  found  the  house  quite  full.  I  was 
about  commencing  the  service,  when  the  door 
opened,  and  in  rushed  Mr.  Moody,  followed  by  a 
long  procession  of  young  men  whom  he  had  picked 
up  and  brought  with  him  on  an  errand  which,  to 
them,  was  evidently  a  new  one. 

"  Mounting  the  platform  with  a  bound,  he  seized 
the  hymn-book  and  commenced,  and  from  beginning 
to  end  of  that  service  I  had  nothing  to  do  but  keep 
out  of  the  way. 

"  He  had  taken  a  rest  of  an  hour  or  tw^o,  and  then, 
having  no  care  about  the  evening  service  on  his 
mind,  took  up  his  old  work  of  bringing  in  recruits, 
at  which  he  was  this  time  unusually  successful.  As 
he  led  them  to  the  church  some  happy  thought 
struck  him,  and  between  the  street  corner  and  the 
pulpit  he  arranged  a  sermon  which  was  one  of  the 
most  effective  I  ever  heard  him  preach." 

Mr.  Hitchcock,  now  superintendent  of  Mr.  Moody's 
school,  gives  the  following  characteristic  sketch  of  the 
Evangelist  making  two  hundred  calls  one  New  Year's 
Day: 

"  At  an  early  hour  the  carriage  which  was  to  take 


22  Moody's  life  and  work. 

him  and  several  of  liis  leading  men  was  at  tlie  door, 
and,  with  a  carefully  prejDared  list  of  residences,  they 
began  the  day's  labor.  The  list  included  a  very  large 
proportion  of  families  living  in  garrets,  and  the  upper 
stories  of  tenement  houses.  On  reaching  a  family  be- 
longing to  his  congregation  he  would  spring  out  of 
the  carriage,  leap  up  the  stairways,  rush  into  the 
room,  and  pay  his  respects  as  follows : 

"'You  know  me:  I  am  Moody;  this  is  Deacon 
De  Golyer,  this  is  Deacon  Thane,  this  is  Brother 
Hitchcock.  Are  you  all  well  ?  Do  you  all  come  to 
church  and  Sunday-school?  Have  you  all  the  coal 
you  need  for  the  winter?  Let  us  pray.'  And  down 
we  would  all  go  upon  our  knees,  while  Mr.  Moody 
offered  from  fifteen  to  twenty  words  of  earnest,  ten- 
der, sympathetic  supplication,  that  God  would  bless 
the  man,  his  wife,  and  each  one  of  the  children. 

"Then,  springing  to  his  feet,  he  would  dash  on 
his  hat,  dart  through  the  doorway  and  dow^n  the 
stairs,  throwing  a  hearty  'good-by'  behind  him, 
leap  into  the  carriage,  and  off  to  the  next  place  on 
his  list;  the  entire  exercise  occupying  about  one 
minute  and  a  half. 

"  Before  long  the  horses  were  tired  out,  for  Moody 
insisted  on  their  going  at  a  run,  from  one  house  to 
another;  so  the  carriage  was  abandoned,  and  the 
party  proceeded  on  foot.  One  after  another  his 
companions  became  exhausted  wdth  running  up- 
stairs and  down-stairs,  and  across  the  streets,  and 
kneeling  on  bare  floors,  and  getting  i\p  in  a  hurry 


CHAUACTERISTIC    INCIDENTS.  23 

until,  reluctantly,  but  of  necessity,  they  were  obliged 
to  relinquish,  the  attempt,  and  the  tireless  pastor  was 
left  to  make  the  last  of  the  tY\^o  hundred  calls  alone; 
after  which  feat  he  returned  home  in  the  highest 
spirits,  and  with  no  sense  of  fatigue,  to  laugh  at  his 
exhausted  companions  for  deserting  him." 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Moody  was  being  driven  by  a 
Christian  gentleman  through  a  farming  community, 
to  a  town  where  he  was  to  speak  at  a  convention 
and  attend  revival  meetings.  As  they  journe^^ed 
they  came  to  a  school-house  closed  for  the  day.  At 
the  farm-house  beyond  Mr.  Moody  stopped  and  in- 
quired of  the  woman  if  they  ever  had  any  religious 
meetings  in  that  school-house.  Upon  her  replying 
that  they  never  had  any  meetings  around  there  he 
said,  "  Tell  every  body  you  see  there  will  be  a  prayer- 
meeting  in  that  school-house  every  night  next  week." 

At  the  second  house  they  found  the  teacher  of 
the  school  and  Mr.  Moody  gave  the  same  notice  to 
her  telling  her  to  send  word  throughout  the  com- 
munity, by  her  j^upils.  His  acquaintance,  knowing 
that  he  had  an  engagement  for  every  night  the  fol- 
lowing week,  inquired  of  him  who  was  to  sux^erin- 
tend  the  meetings. 

"  You  are,"  was  the  blunt  reply. 

"I!"  cried  the  astonished  brother,  "I  never  did 
such  a  thing  in  my  life." 

"It  is  high  time  you  commenced  then!  I  have 
made  the  appointment  and  you  must  keep  it." 

The  timid  brother  was  forced  to  acquiesce,  and 


24  Moody's  life  and  work. 

led  tlie  meetings,  wliicli  was  the  result  of  a  great 
revival  tbrougliout  all  that  portion  of  the  country. 

At  a  certain  State  Sunday-school  Convention  Mr. 
Moody's  determination  that  every  thing  connect- 
ed with  Sunday-school  work,  however  extended, 
should  be  conducted  upon  a  basis  of  strict  piety, 
and  with  earnest  religious  exercises,  in  contradis- 
tinction to  the  views  and  more  worldly  purposes  of 
some  of  his  eminent  co-laborers — gained  him  the 
severe  displeasure  of  several  prominent  men  at  the 
convention.  Mr.  Moody's  views  were  adopted,  by 
a  vote  of  the  majority,  and  he  and  his  friends  ap- 
pointed upon  a  number  of  important  committees. 
One  of  the  opposition,  in  the  presence  of  five  thou- 
sand people,  gave  him  a  pointedly  insulting  question 
to  speak  upon. 

He  accepted  the  challenge  and  spoke  with  ex- 
traordinary meekness  and  fervent  religious  feeling. 
He  touchingly  recapitulated  his  own  and  his  friends' 
labors  for  Christ,  and  at  the  end  tendered  the  res- 
ignation of  all  honorable  offices  he  and  his  friends 
had  received.  But  his  address  had  moved  the  mul- 
titude to  tears,  and  the  hearts  of  his  enemies  to 
deepest  repentance. 

Unanimously,  and  by  acclaim,  they  voted  that  the 
resignation  should  not  be  accepted,  expressed  their 
appreciation  of  him  and  his  work,  and  a  desire  for  his 
pardon.  Never  was  a  more  melting  scene  witnessed 
in  a  vast  audience,  than  when  the  great  man  offered 
a  short,  audible  prayer  for  reconciliation  and  peace. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ALLIANCE   OF   MOODY  AND   SANKEY. 

It  was  early  in  the  year  1871  tbat  Mr.  Moody 
first  met — at  a  National  Convention  of  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations,  Indianapolis,  Indiana — Mr. 
Ira  David  Sankey. 

This  gentleman  was  born  in  Edinburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, U.  S.,  in  the  year  1840.  He  was  the  child  of 
pious  parents,  but  it  was  not  until  his  sixteenth  year 
that  he  experienced  a  change  of  heart. 

He  early  displayed  a  taste  for  music  and,  after  his 
conversion,  took  an  active  part  in  promoting  the 
efficient  training  of  Sunday-school  children  in  the 
singing  of  hymrs.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  was 
a  leader  in  the  M.  E.  Church  of  an  evening  class 
numbering  seventy  or  eighty,  and  superintendent 
of  a  large  Sunday-school. 

Mr.  Moody  hearing  him  sing  and  being  intro- 
duced to  him,  at  the  close  of  the  meeting,  after  a 
few  preliminary  questions,  abruptly  told  him  he 
wanted  him  to  come  and  work  with  him  in  Chi- 
cago; that  he  was  the  man  for  whom  he  had  been 
seeking  during  the  last  eight  years. 

A  proposition  to  leave  his  pleasant  home  and 
l^rosperous  business,  and  go  into  a  strange  city  to 
do  missionary  labor — from  a  man  with  whom  he 


26  Moody's  life  and  work. 

was  personally  unacqnainted,  but  of  whom  lie  had 
heard  that  he  was  liviDg  entirely  dependent  upon 
faith  in  God  for  his  daily  sustenance — was  rather 
startling,  but  Mr.  Moody  succeeded  in  obtaining 
droni  him  a  promise  that  he  would  think  about  it 
and  pray  over  it.  A  few  evenings  after  they  held 
a  meeting  together  in  the  streets  of  Indianapolis, 
and  vvith  such  signal  success  that  Sankey  resolved 
he,  too,  would  trust  the  Lord  and  go  with  his  new 
friend  to  labor  in  Chicago. 

Mr.  Sankey's  singing  has  no  pretension  to  the 
artistic,  his  music  is  made  subservient  to  the  words, 
and  in  accent  and  tone  is  constantly  varied  to  suit 
the  words;  but  the  hallowed  sweetness  and  winning 
tenderness  of  many  of  his  songs  has  been  effectual 
in  awakening  many  thousands  of  people. 

For  two  or  three  years  prior  to  their  going  abroad 
these  two  men  labored  amicably  and  efficaciously, 
in  Chicago,  Pittsfield,  Springfield,  Philadelphia,  and 
many  other  towns  and  cities. 

In  October  the  terrible  fire  swept  over  the  city. 
It  covered  a  space  of  one  mile  by  four.  Within 
the  doomed  precinct  were  Mr.  Moody's  school  and 
church  and  the  building  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association. 

Mr.  Moody  had  been  married  in  1862,  to  Miss 
Emma  C.  Eevell.  At  the  time  of  the  fire  he  was  liv- 
ing with  his  wife  and  children — a  boy  and  girl — in 
an  elegant  house,  completely  and  handsomely  fur- 
nished— a  New  Year's  gift  from  generous  friends. 


ALLIANCE    OF    MOODY    AND    SANKEY.  27 

Mr.  Moody  and  liis  family  were  roused  at  mid- 
nig'lit  to  find  tlie  fire  approaching  their  dwelling  and, 
leaving  their  home  with  all  their  precious  property 
to  the  merciless  fiames,  hurriedly  sought  shelter  at 
the  house  of  a  friend.  The  only  article  he  saved 
was  his  Bagster  Bible.  Placing  his  family  beyond 
reach  of  the  raging  fire,  he  immediately  commenced 
providing  the  hungry  and  the  houseless  with  food 
and  shelter. 

So  indefatigable  was  his  energy,  so  unconquerable 
his  faith,  and  so  successful  his  solicitations  for  dona- 
tions, that  in  thirty  days  after  the  destruction  of  his 
school  building,  a  great,  rough,  comfortable  struc- 
ture, over  a  hundred  feet  in  length  and  seventy-five 
in  width — was  erected,  in  the  centre  of  the  ruins,  for 
the  accommodation  of  his  pux3ils. 

Being  such  a  distance  from  the  habitations  which 
escaped  the  fire,  it  was  feared  there  would  be  but  a 
meagre  attendance  the  first  Sabbath.  But  at  the 
dedicatory  service  were  over  one  thousand  children, 
with  some  of  their  parents  and  friends,  who  had 
come  over  the  charred  ruins  to  the  new  chapel. 

The  building  was  kept  open  day  and  night  and 
food  and  shelter  were  provided  for  any  houseless 
wanderer  who  chanced  to  enter. 

Mr.  Moody,  when  supplying  them  with  neces- 
saries, would  exact  from  them  a  promise  that,  before 
they  ate  the  food  or  put  on  the  clothes,  they  would 
thank  the  Lord  upon  their  knees  for  sending  them. 

In  June,  1873,  Mr.  Moody  decided  to  accept  the 


28  Moody's  life  and  work. 

invitation  of  two  gentlemen — Mr.  Pennefather,  of 
London,  and  Mr.  BaiDbridge,  of  Newcastle — to  com- 
mence an  evangelistic  work  in  Great  Britain. 

The  time  selected  for  this  missionary  tour  was 
characteristic  of  the  man.  His  new  church  was  in 
process  of  building,  and  his  school  and  congregation 
were  soon  to  be  transferred  to  the  basement  story. 
Mr.  Moody  felt  that  there  were  many  who  could 
execute  as  well  as  he  the  numberless  little  matters 
incident  to  the  erection  of  a  new  building.  He  left 
the  spiritual  superintendence  to  the  members  of  his 
flock — whom  he  taught  to  be  Independent  in  spirit 
as  they  were  in  name.  They  had  occasional  help 
from  the  pastors  of  other  churches. 

He  has  had  no  reason  to  regret  his  faith  in  the 
ability  of  those  in  w^hose  charge  he  left  his  work. 

Mr.  Moody  made  all  his  arrangements  to  leave, 
secured  a  passage  for  himself  and  family,  bade  his 
congregation  and  school  farewell,  but  to  within  an 
hour  of  his  departure  by  the  train  had  not  a  dollar 
with  which  to  defray  his  expenses. 

A  few  hours  before  the  time  he  was  to  start  it  oc- 
curred to  a  friend  of  his,  Hon.  J.  V.  Farwell,  who 
knew  nothing  of  his  straitened  circumstances,  that 
Moody  would  need  some  money  after  he  reached 
England.  Going  down  to  bid  him  farewell  he  placed 
in  his  hand  a  check  for  $500. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  1873,  Mr.  Moody,  with  his 
family  and  Mr.  Sankey,  sailed  for  Liverpool,  reach- 
ing there  after  a  prosperous  voyage  of  ten  days. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OVER   THE   SEA. 

Me.  Moody  witli  his  Bible,  and  Mr.  Sankey  witli 
his  music-book  and  organ,  arriving  in  Liverpool  on 
the  17fch  of  June,  1873,  learned  that  the  friends  who 
had  invited  them  to  Great  Britain  were  both  dead. 
Lamenting  their  loss  but  not  disheartened,  they  im- 
mediately commenced  their  work. 

They  held  meetings  in  Liverpool,  York,  Sunder- 
land, Newcastle,  Stockton-on-tees,  Carlisle,  Darling- 
ton, and  Shields.  At  several  of  these  places  hundreds 
were  influenced  to  come  to  Christ. 

After  they  reached  Edinburgh  three  or  four  of  the 
largest  halls  were  constantly  in  requisition,  yet  dis- 
appointed thousands  turned  away  from  these  over- 
crowded buildings  unable  to  gain  admittance. 

Dr.  Blakie  says,  of  the  work  in  Edinburgh:  "  There 
have  been  some  very  remarkable  conversions  of  scep- 
tics. Dr.  Andrew  Thompson  told  of  one  who,  having 
been  awakened  on  the  previous  week,  had  gone  for 
the  first  time  to  church  on  the  previous  Sunday.  He 
had  hardly  been  in  a  place  of  worship  for  years,  and 
a  week  before  would  have  scouted  the  idea.  He  was 
so  happy  in  the  morning  that  he  returned  in  the  af- 
ternoon.    The  blessing  seemed  to  come  down  upon 


30  Moody's  life  and  work. 

him.  Another  sceptic  who  carried  his  unbelief  to 
the  verge  of  blasphemy  has  now  come  to  the  foot  of 
the  cross. 

"Among  the  most  direct  and  touching  fruits  of 
saving  impressions  of  any  one,  affectionate  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  other  members  of  the  family  is  one 
of  the  surest  and  most  uniform.  A  working  man 
of  fifty  years  of  age,  for  example,  is  impressed  and 
brought  to  peace  in  believing,  and  immediately  he 
comes  to  the  minister  and  cries  out,  with  streaming 
eyes,  '  Oh !  pray  for  my  two  sons ! '  A  father  and 
his  son  are  seen  at  another  meeting  with  arms  round 
each  other's  necks.  In  many  cases  the  work  of  con- 
version seems  to  go  through  whole  families.  That 
peculiar  joyfulness  and  expectation  which  marks 
young  converts,  is  often  the  means  of  leading  oth- 
ers to  the  fountain,  and  two,  three,  four,  and  even 
more  members  of  the  same  family  share  the  blessing.'* 

And  Dr.  Bonar  says,  "  There  was  scarcely  a  Chris- 
tian household-  in  all  Edinburgh,  in  w^hich  there 
were  not  one  or  more  persons  converted  during 
the  revival." 

Through  the  two  months  of  the  Evangelists'  stay 
in  Edinburgh  a  noon  prayer-meeting  was  held  daily, 
at  Free  Association  Hall,  and  each  noon  attended 
by  over  one  thousand  persons. 

Among  the  inquirers  were  youths  m  their  teens, 
students  from  the  University,  soldiers  fi'om  the  Cas- 
tle, old  men  with  their  threescore  years  and  ten, 
the  rich,  the  poor,  the  educated,  the  uneducated. 


OVEU    THE    SEA.  31 

the  backslider,  the  blasphemer,  and  the  sceptic; 
and  in  many  instances  the  wounded  were  healed 
and  the  burdened  went  home  rejoicing. 

During  the  holidays  masses  of  young  people  from 
the  school  crowded  the  meetings.  So  great  was  the 
attraction  of  Mr.  Sankey's  singing  and  Mr.  Moody's 
eloquence,  that  hundreds  of  young  persons,  espe- 
cially of  the  higher  classes,  who  were  formerly  ac- 
customed to  go  to  the  theatre,  opera,  and  panto- 
mime, gave  them  up  deliberately  and,  from  choice 
and  the  force  of  conviction,  attended  the  Gospel  and 
pray  er-meetin  gs. 

The  last  meeting  was  held  on  the  slope  of  Arthur's 
Seat,  no  edifice  being  in  the  least  capable  of  contain- 
ing the  vast  multitude. 

The  followiug  is  a  graphic  sketch  of  a  day  at 
Elgin : 

"  Sui-ely  something  unusual  was  going  on,  streets 
abandoned,  the  house-doors  fast,  the  shops  closed. 
Through  half  a  mile  of  the  empty  streets  ours  were 
the  only  footsteps  that  echoed  on  the  pavement,  and 
every  thing  was  silent  and  desolate  as  a  plague-strick- 
en city !  At  last,  just  on  the  verge  of  the  town,  the 
stillness  was  broken  by  the  distant  sound  of  a  voice, 
and  the  turn  of  a  lane  revealed  a  sight  which  time 
can  never  efface  from  the  memory.  There  stood  the 
inhabita^nts,  motionless,  breathless,  plague- stricken 
indeed,  plague-stricken  with  the  plague  of  sin.  The 
sermon  was  evidently  half  over,  and  the  preacher, 
with  folded  arms,  leaned  over  the  wooden  rail  of  the 


32  Moody's  life  and  work. 

rude  platform.  Oh,  the  sin  upon  those  faces  round 
him!  I  cannot  tell  you  who  were  there,  or  how 
many,  or  what  a  good  choir  there  was,  or  what  Mr. 
Sankey  sang,  or  which  dignitary  prayed.  I  cannot 
tell  you  how  beautifully  the  sun  was  setting,  or  how 
fresh  the  background  of  woods  looked,  or  how  azure 
the  sky  was.  But  these  old  men  penitent,  these 
drunkards  petrified,  these  strong  men's  tears,  these 
drooping  heads  of  women,  these  groups  of  gutter 
children,  with  their  wondering  eyes !  Oh,  that  mul- 
titude of  thirsty  ones — what  a  sight  it  was  I  What 
could  the  preacher  do  but  preach  his  best  ?  And 
long  after  the  time  for  stopping,  was  it  a  marvel  to 
hear  the  persuasive  voice  still  pleading  with  these 
Christless  thousands? 

"One  often  hears  doubts  as  to  the  possibility  of 
producing  an  impression  in  the  open  air,  but  there 
is  no  mistake  this  time.  No,  there  is  no  mistaking 
these  long,  concentric  arcs  of  wistful  faces  curving 
around  the  speaker,  and  these  reluctant  tears,  which 
conscious  guilt  has  wrung  from  eyes  unused  to  weep. 
Oh,  the  power  of  the  living  Spirit  of  God !  Oh,  the 
fascination  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ !  Oh,  the  glad- 
ness of  the  old,  old  story  of  these  men  and  women 
hurrying  graveward!  These  thousands  just  hung 
spellbound  on  the  speaker's  lips.  It  seemed  as  if 
he  daren't  stop,  so  many  hungry  ones  were  there  to 
feed.  At  last  he  seemed  about  to  close,  and  the  au- 
dience strained  to  catch  the  last  solemn  words;  when 
the  preacher,  casting  his  eye  on  a  little  boy,  seemed 


OVER    THE    SEA.  33 

moved  witli  an  overpowering  desire  to  tell  the  little 
ones  of  a  children's  Christ.  Then  followed  for  fif- 
teen minntes  more  the  most  beautiful  and  pathetic 
children's  sermon  v>e  have  ever  heard;  and  then, 
turning  to  the  weeping  mothers  and  fathers,  con- 
cluded with  a  last  tender  appeal,  which  must  have 
sunk  far  into  many  a  parent's  heart. 

When  these  tireless  Evangelists  had  compassed 
Scotland  they  crossed  the  water.  Mr.  Sankey  was 
a  decided  favorite  with  the  Irish  people. 

The  majority  of  people  in  Dublin  are  Koman 
Catholics.  Strangely  enough  the  first  convert  given 
them  in  this  capital  was  a  young  man  of  the  Eom- 
ish  faith.  So  many  of  that  persuasion  flocked  to 
hear  them  that  Cardinal  Cullen  felt  obliged  to  pub- 
lish an  edict  prohibiting  their  attendance  upon  the 
meetings. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  an  article — enti- 
tled "Fair  Play,"  in  a  Catholic  paper — on  the  re- 
vival: "With  much  regret  we  notice  indications  of 
an  attempt  to  excite  the  hostility  of  our  Catholic 
population  against  the  religious  services  conducted 
by  some  Protestant  missionaries  from  America.  We 
trust  we  shall  not  appeal  in  vain  to  the  spirit  of  tol- 
erance, of  honorable  fair  play,  of  respect  of  con- 
science in  the  breasts  of  Irish  Catholics,  when  we 
call  upon  them  to  crush  the  slightest  attempt  at 
offensive  demonstration  against  the  religious  exer- 
cises which  some  sections  of  the  Protestant  commu- 
nity are  holding,  under  the  auspices  of  the  gentlemen 
3 


34  Moody's  life  and  work. 

we  refer  to.  We  Catholics  should  ever  discriminate 
between  the  Protestantism  of  sincere  men  devoted 
to  their  ov/n  convictions,  but  seeking  no  unjust  in- 
terference with  ourSj  and  the  wi'etched  kind  of  Prot- 
estantism which  consists  in  wanton  insult  and  ag- 
gression upon  the  Catholic  poor.  For  this  latter 
warfare  on  our  homes  and  altars,  we  shall  always 
have  scorn  and  reprobation ;  for  the  former,  we 
should  always  have  respectful  sentiments.  Let 
Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  do  all  they  can  to  make 
Protestants  earnest  in  religion.  Let  us  Catholics 
daily  devote  ourselves  more  and  more  energetically 
to  the  practical  duties  of  our  holy  faith ;  and  let  us 
all,  Protestant  and  Catholic,  work  and  pray  to  keep 
the  teachings  and  theories  of  the  Huxleys  and  the 
Tyndalls  far  from  the  shores  of  Ireland." 

Leaving  Dublin  the  brethren  returned  to  England. 

At  Birmingham,  in  one  week,  they  held  twenty- 
two  services,  reaching  in  the  aggregate  156,000  men, 
women,  and  children. 

At  one  of  the  meetings  a  roughly  clad  man,  to  all 
appearance  a  common  laborer,  who  had  come  to 
town  after  the  meeting  was  over,  seemed  much  dis- 
appointed. He  had  walked,  in  the  rain,  nearly  six 
miles  in  order  to  hear  the  Evangelists,  and  arrived 
too  late  to  gain  an  entrance.  He  said  he  had  to 
walk  back  and  preach  the  same  evening.  He  was 
somewhat  relieved  when  he  obtained  a  ticket  for  the 
worker's  meeting  the  following  Sunday  morning. 

May,  June,  July,  and  August,  of  1874,  were  given 


OVER    THE    SEA.  35 

by  tlie  Evangelists  to  London.  Agricultural  Hall, 
in  North  London,  was  the  first  building  chosen  for 
their  labors,  and  it  was  variously  computed  that  the 
arrangements  afforded  accommodation  for  from  fif- 
teen to  eighteen  thousand  people. 

At  the  first  meeting  inside,  the  great  multitude 
were  singing  Old  Hundred.  Outside  there  were  in- 
fidels distributing  handbills,  containing  malignant 
misstatements ;  multitudes  of  young  men  full  of 
frolic  and  fun  ;  gaily-dressed  evil  women  laughing 
and.  jesting;  carmen,  boardmen,  and  loafers,  swear- 
ing and  mocking;  among  all  not  one  serious  face, 
not  one  with  thought  or  care  for  their  immortal 
souls,  proving  that  the  brethren  were  wise  in  devot- 
ing four  months  to  the  city  which  evidently  needed 
them  so  much. 

Afterward,  many  of  these  wretched  characters  were 
induced  to  come  to  the  services  and  to  Christ. 

The  noon  prayer-meeting,  held  at  Her  Majesty's 
Opera  House,  was  a  marked  feature  of  the  work  in 
that  metropolis. 

The  number  of  requests  for  prayer  constantly  flow- 
ing in  could  not  be  read  separately,  but  were  classi- 
fied, as  follows:  sixty  requests  for  prayer  for  uncon- 
verted children,  forty  requests  by  Christian  wives 
for  husbands  out  of  Christ,  ten  requests  by  sisters 
for  brothers  addicted  to  the  use  of  liquor.  Hun- 
dreds of  Sunday-school  teachers  request  prayer  for 
their  pupils.  Twenty  requests  for  profligate  sons 
by  heart-broken  parents. 


36  Moody's  life  and  work/ 

And  one  day  came  to  Her  Majesty's  Opera  House 
the  strangest  petition  of  all.  A  j^oor  woman  in 
Newgate  prison  condemned  to  die  sent  a  request 
for  prayer.  The  heart  of  the  great  audience,  mostly 
of  the  nobility,  was  touched  with  compassion,  and 
with  bowed  heads  they  prayed  the  kind  Father  to 
bless  the  miserable,  condemned  criminal. 

A  tract  distributor  passing  over  Waterloo  Bridge 
offered  a  man  a  tract.  He  declined  it  with  the  re- 
mark, "  I  shall  be  in  hell  before  night." 

"  No,  you  will  not,  for  I  am  going  to  heaven,  and 
will  stick  to  you  all  day." 

They  left  the  bridge  together,  the  hungry  man 
was  fed  and  taken  to  one  of  the  meetings.  While 
there  he  fell  asleep.  *'Let  him  sleep,  perhaps  he 
has  been  walking  all  night,"  said  his  friend. 

After  the  services  were  ended  he  was  taken  home 
to  supper,  inquiring  concerning  all  this  kindness, 
"  what's  up  ?  "  He  was  fed,  cared  for,  reasoned  with, 
instructed  and  taught  the  way  to  heaven,  instead  of 
going  to  hell  as  he  had  said. 

After  five  weeks  at  Agricultural  Hall  and  some 
time  spent  at  Eow  Koad  Hall  the  Evangelists  re- 
moved to  the  Eoyal  Opera  House  in  the  Haymai-ket. 

Here  the  wealthy,  the  titled,  the  cultivated,  and 
the  leaders  of  fashionable  society  gathered — ^partic- 
ularly at  the  Bible  readings. 

A  New  York  journal,  on  the  revival  in  London, 
contained  the  following:  "We  presume  that  the  aris- 
tocracy and  the  literati  will  scarce  hear  of  the  move- 


OVER    THE    SEA.  37 

ment  that  is  about  them.  It  is  an  after  generation 
that  builds  the  monuments  of  the  j)i'ophets.  Bun- 
yan  got  no  words  of  honor  from  the  Duke  of  Bed- 
ford, whose  descendant  has  lately  set  up  his  statue." 
But  long  before  these  words  were  written  Mr.  Moody 
had  been  welcomed  as  a  guest  within  the  walls  of 
Dunrobin  Castle,  and  dined  with  the  Lord  Chancel- 
lor of  England. 

At  his  first  meeting  in  London  he  was  assisted 
by  a  peer  of  the  realm  and,  at  the  Haymarket,  the 
Princess  of  Wales,  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  the 
Prince  Teck,  and  many  more  of  the  nobilit}',  listened 
to  his  stirring  appeals,  wept  over  his  pathetic  sto- 
ries, and  joined  heartily  in  the  sweet  songs  led  by 
Mr.  Sankey. 

They  must  also  have  added  to  their  presence  and 
influence  the  weight  of  their  purses,  for  the  amount 
expended  in  London  alone,  in  arrangements  for  the 
revival,  was  $625,000. 

One  young  man's  testimony  may  be  given  as  an 
illustration  of  hundreds:  "I  went  into  the  inquiry 
room,  and  Mr.  Sankey  walked  up  and  down  with 
me,  and  talked  to  me  as  though  he  had  been  my 
own  father;  and  I  found  Christ." 

The  four  months'  labor  of  the  Evangelists  in  Lon- 
don was  ended,  and  they  left  Great  Britain  followed 
by  the  grateful  love,  the  thankful  tenderness,  tho 
heart-stirring  benedictions  of  millions  of  people  to 
whom  under  God  they  had  been  the  instrument  of 
blessing. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HOME   AGAIN. 

Notwithstanding  the  wonderful  career  of  the  revi- 
valists in  Europe,  there  were  many  who  prophesied 
— and  with  some  plausibility — that  the  same  success 
could  not  attend  them  in  America,  where  the  songs 
were  well  known  and  the  style  of  their  address 
familiar.  But,  instead,  the  anticipations  of  their 
most  sanguine  friends  are  more  than  realized. 

A  pleasant  feature  of  the  Brooklyn  services  was 
the  united  and  harmonious  action  of  laymen  and 
ministers  of  all  denominations  of  Christians. 

Every  morning  at  the  Tabernacle,  and  every  even- 
ing at  the  Eink,  were  thirty  or  forty  city  pastors 
gathered  near  the  platform  all  ready  to  do  their  ut- 
termost to  increase  the  interest  and  success  of  the 
meetings. 

Dr.  Duryea  gives  the  following  incident  in  connec- 
tion with  the  work  in  Brooklyn :  "  A  young  man  of 
my  acquaintance,  of  fine  culture  and  wide  reading, 
came  to  me,  took  me  by  the  hand  and  said,  'Doc- 
tor, I  am  going.' 

"  He  was  the  first  to  rise  in  the  auditorium  when 
Mr.  Moody  gave  the  invitation.  He  was  verging 
on  Universahsm,   but  Mr.  Moody's  sermon  went 


HOME   AGAIN.  39 

home,  and  broke  sunliglit  througli  the  vapor  and 
mystification  in  his  mind." 

Many  who  would  not  have  been  influenced  to 
attend  the  revival  services  by  IVIr.  Moody's  preach- 
ing are  drawn  thither  by  Mr.  Sankey's  singing. 
Of  the  hymns  sung  by  Mr.  Sankey  in  Brooklyn 
"  The  Ninety  and  Nine "  was  the  general  favorite. 
The  following  is  the  correct  account  of  its  origin: 
The  first  time  Mr.  Sankey  visited  London  he  bought 
a  copy  of  The  Christian  Age,  a  religious  paper, 
which  published  Dr.  Talmage's  sermons,  and  found 
this  hymn.  It  seemed  adapted  to  religious  work. 
He  cut  it  from  the  paper  and,  three  days  afterward, 
sang  it  at  a  meeting  in  Edinburgh,  having  himself 
composed  the  music.  Not  long  after  he  received  a 
letter  from  a  lady  thanking  him  for  having  sung  the 
hymn,  and  informing  him  the  author  was  her  sister, 
Miss  Eliza  C.  Claphane,  of  Melrose,  Scotland.  She 
wrote  the  hymn  in  1868  and  died  shortly  afterward. 

It  is  difficult  to  explain  the  secret  of  Mr.  Moody's 
success  or  the  elements  of  his  power.  That  he  has 
power  no  one,  who  has  ever  sat  by  his  side  and 
watched  the  sea  of  upturned,  earnest  faces  eager 
to  catch  every  syllable  which  falls  from  his  lips, 
can  doubt. 

He  is  thoroughly  in  earnest.  He  preaches  with 
his  whole  soul,  evidently  believing  all  he  says,  and 
expecting  his  hearers  to  believe  it. 

He  is  remarkably  natural.  "Without  apparent  ef- 
fort he  gets  wonderfully  near  to  his  audience,  what- 


40  Moody's  life  and  work. 

ever  their  size  may  be.  He  speaks  witli  the  same 
unaffected  fervor  to  fifteen  and  to  fifteen  thousand. 

He  is  thoroughly  conscientious.  The  committee 
having  charge  of  the  revival  meetings,  in  London, 
tendered  him  a  large  royalty  accruing  from  the  sale 
of  music-books  in  London.  It  was  his  by  every 
legal  and  moral  right,  but  he  utterly  refused  to  ac- 
cept a  penny  of  it.  Since  his  return  it  has  been 
sent,  by  the  committee  in  London,  to  Mr.  Moody's 
Tabernacle  building  committee  in  Chicago. 

That  such  a  man  should  have  no  enemies  or  slan- 
derers would  be  a  miracle.  But  his  calumniators 
are  usually  those  who  do  not  know  him,  and  many 
of  these  since  seeing  him  and  hearing  him,  have  be- 
come his  warmest  friends. 

In  a  religious  movement  of  such  vast  proportions 
as  that  which  is  here  so  briefly  and  imperfectly 
sketched,  there  can  be  no  exactness  with  reference 
to  results. 

Just  how  many  thousands  of  believers  have  been 
refreshed  and  helped  to  a  truer  knowledge  of  their 
privilege  and  duty,  and  how  many  tens  of  thousands 
of  wanderers  brought  into  the  fold  of  Christ,  will 
never  be  known  until  the  day  when  He  shall  num- 
ber His  jewels. 


Addresses  a7id  Best    Tkotcgkts, 


1.  How  TO  Read  the  Bible. — If  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
our  Teacher,  we  will  understand  the  Word  of  God. 
The  best  thing  to  interpret  the  Bible  is  the  Bible  it- 
self. There  are  three  books  every  Christian  ought  to 
have;  the  Bible,  Cruden's  Concordance,  and  the  "Bi- 
ble Text-Book."  Study  the  Bible  topically.  Take 
up  one  subject  at  a  time.  Take  up  "  Love "  and 
spend  a  mouth  upon  it.  Take  a  concordance  and  go 
through  the  Bible  with  it  upon  this  subject,  and  then 
you  will  be  full  of  love,  and  there  will  be  no  room 
for  malice  and  hatred  in  your  heart.  After  that  take 
up  "Faith";  it  is  better  to  go  to  the  Word  of  God 
and  get  faith  than  to  pray  for  it.  Then  take  up 
"Blood";  it  shows  the  way  to  heaven.  Now  take 
up  "Heaven,"  aud  spend  months  upon  it.  Then 
"Prayer."  We  do  not  know  how  to  pray  as  we 
ought  to.  The  only  way  for  us  to  study  the  Bible 
is  to  take  up  one  subject  and  try  to  master  that  sub- 
ject. A  man  said  to  me,  "Can  you  recommend  the 
best  Life  of  Christ  ?  "  I  said  I  could  recommend 
four — Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John.  A  man  had 
better  spend  a  year  over  those  four  Gospels  than  to 
run  over  the  whole  Bible.     If  a  man  studies  Genesis 


ADDRESSES 


he  has  a  key  to  tlie  whole  Bible.  It  is  the  beginning 
of  every  thing,  and  then  the  other  jDarts  of  the  Bible 
will  unfold  themselves  to  us.  Let  us  tak^  the  Bible 
up  with  some  object  in  view — to  get  at  some  ix^xV^. 
In  California  the  best  gold  is  found  at  the  greatest 
depth  ;  and  so  with  the  Word  of  God ;  the  best  part 
is  deepest.  Here  is  some  law  document ;  it  is  unin- 
teresting. Now,  suppose  it  is  the  will  of  some  man 
giving  you  a  great  inheritance  ;  you  will  become  in- 
terested. This  Book  tells  me  of  this  inheritance. 
What  can  the  geologist  tell  you  about  the  Rock 
of  Ages  ?  He  can  tell  you  about  the  rocks  of  this 
world.  What  does  the  astronomer  know  about  the 
bright  and  morning  star?  He  can  tell  you  about 
other  stars.  God  did  not  tell  Joshua  how  to  use 
the  sword,  and  fight  in  the  promised  land,  but  He 
told  him  to  meditate  ux3on  the  law  day  and  night, 
and  no  one  could  stand  before  him.  These  words 
apply  to  every  one  here.  This  sword  cuts  right  and 
left,  and  with  it  a  man  can  cut  his  enemies  right  up 
to  the  throne  of  God. 

2.  God's  Bible  and  Spirit. — A  man  filled  with 
the  Spirit  dwells  much  with  the  Scripture.  Peter 
quoted  Scripture  at  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  when  he 
was  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  What  is  a  man  good  for 
if  he  has  no  weapon?  We  don't  know  how  to  use 
this  sword;  we  should  get  into  the  habit  of  using 
it.  David  says,  "  Thy  Word  have  I  hid  in  my  heart." 
A  good  thing  in  a  good  place  for  a  good  purpose. 


AND    BEST   THOUGHTS.  43 

If  jou  lose  your  health  you  lie  upon  your  bed  and 
feed  upon  the  Word  of  God.  "When  you  meet  to- 
gether to  dine  it  is  better  to  bring  out  the  Bible 
than  to  bring  on  wine.  I  was  glad  in  England  at 
seeing  that  done  in  a  great  maoy  houses  of  the  up- 
per classes. 

3.  Key  to  the  Bible. — An  Englishman  said  to  me, 
*'  Moody,  did  you  ever  study  the  life  of  Job  ?  "  I  said, 
"No,  I  never  did."  He  said,  "If  you  get  a  key  to 
Job  you  get  a  key  to  the  whole  Bible."  "What  has 
Job  to  do  with  the  Bible?"  He  said,  "I  will  tell 
you.  I  will  divide  the  subject  into  seven  heads. 
First,  Job,  before  he  was  tried,  was  a  perfect  man 
untried.  He  was  like  Adam  in  Eden  until  Satan 
came  in.  Second,  he  was  tried  by  adversity.  Third, 
the  wisdom  of  the  world  is  represented  by  Job's 
friends  trying  to  restore  him.  See  w^hat  language 
they  used.  They  were  wonderful  wise  men,  but 
they  could  not  help  Job  out  of  his  difficulties.  Men 
are  miserable  comforters  when  they  do  not  under- 
stand the  grace  of  God.  Job  could  stand  his  scold- 
ing wife  and  his  boils  better  than  these  men's  argu- 
ments; they  made  him  worse  instead  of  better. 
Fifth,  God  speaks,  and  Job  humbles  himself  in  the 
dust.  God,  before  He  saves  a  man,  brings  him 
down  into  the  dust.  He  does  not  talk  about  how 
he  has  fed  the  hungry  and  clothed  the  naked;  but 
he  says,  I  am  vile.  Seventh,  God  restores  him,  and 
the  last  end  of  Job  was  better  tlian  the  first.     So  the 


44  ADDRESSES 

last  state  of  man  is  better  than  the  first.  It  is  bet- 
ter than  the  state  of  Adam,  because  Adam  might 
have  lived  ten  thousand  years  and  then  fallen;  there- 
fore it  is  better  for  us  to  be  outside  of  Eden  with 
Christ  than  that  we  should  be  in  Eden  without  Him. 
God  gave  Job  double  as  much  wealth  as  he  had  be- 
fore, but  He  only  gave  him  ten  children.  He  had 
ten  before  his  calamity  came  upon  him.  That  is 
worthy  of  notice.  God  would  not  admit  that  Job 
had  lost  any  children.  He  gave  him  ten  here  and 
ten  in  heaven." 

4.  The  Crowning  Watch-night  of  the  Century. — 
The  most  wonderful  watch-night  ever  held  was  by 
Moody  and  Sankey,  closing  at  the  dawn  of  the 
second  century  of  our  independence,  in  the  same 
city  where  that  wonderful  document  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  was  signed. 

The  building  was  crowded  with  at  least  eleven 
thousand  persons,  and  as  many  more  were  outside 
trying  to  get  in.  The  meeting  commenced  at  nine 
o'clock,  continuing  till  ten.  Then  the  doors  were 
opened  and  many  retired,  thus  allowing  as  many 
others  to  come  in  and  take  their  places.  So  again 
at  eleven.  The  first  hour  of  this  service  was  occu- 
pied by  Mr.  Moody  in  an  address  on  "  How  long 
halt  ye  between  two  opinions."  A  delightful  feat- 
ure of  the  second  hour  was  a  talk  with  the  Eev.  Dr. 
Plumer,  of  South  Carolina,  on  conviction  and  con- 
version.    The  eleven  o'clock  service  was  opened  by 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  45 

singing  "  The  Lord  of  Earth  and  Sky."  Mr.  Sankey 
sang  *'One  more  day's  work  for  Jesus."  Mr.  Moody 
preached  from  the  text,  "What  then  shall  I  do 
with  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ."  He  followed 
out  the  same  line  of  thought  that  he  took  in  the 
nine  o'clock  service.  He  showed  the  want  of  de- 
cision in  Pilate's  character.  More  souls  are  lost  for 
the  want  of  decision,  than  for  any  one  thing.  God 
holds  the  world  responsible  for  what  they  have  done 
with  his  Son.  A  large  number  rose  for  prayers. 
The  congregation,  led  by  Dr.  Newton,  repeated  the 
Lord's  prayer.  The  benediction  was  pronounced 
by  Dr.  Plumer,  who  then  joined  Mr.  Moody  in 
wishing  the  assembly  a  happy  new  year. 

CHKIST  SEEKING  SINNERS. 

5.  "The  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  Seek  and  to  Save 
THAT  WHICH  WAS  LosT." — To  me  this  is  one  of  the 
sweetest  verses  in  the  whole  Bible.  In  this  one  little 
short  sentence  we  are  told  what  Christ  came  into 
this  world  for.  He  came  for  a  purpose;  He  came 
to  do  a  work,  and  in  this  little  verse  the  whole  story 
is  told.  He  came  not  to  condemn  the  world,  but 
that  the  world  through  Him,  might  be  saved. 

A  few  years  ago,  the  Prince  of  Wales  went  to 
America,  and  there  was  great  excitement  about  your 
Crown  Prince.  The  papers  took  it  up,  and  began 
to  discuss  it,  and  a  great  many  were  wondering  what 
he  came  for.  Was  it  to  look  into  the  republican 
government?    Was  it  for  his  health?    Was  it  to  see 


46  ADDRESSES 

our  institutions  ?  he  never  told  us  what  he  came  for. 
But  when  the  Prince  of  Heaven  came  down  into 
this  world,  He  told  us  what  he  came  for.  God  sent 
Him,  and  He  came  to  do  the  will  of  His  Father. 
"  To  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost." 

6.  Never  Failed. — And  you  cannot  find  any  place 
in  Scripture  where  a  man  was  ever  sent  by  God  to 
do  a  work  in  which  he  failed.  God  sent  Moses  to 
Egypt  to  bring  three  milhons  of  bondmen  up  out 
of  the  house  of  bondage  into  the  promised  land. 
Did  he  fail?  It  looked,  at  first,  as  if  he  were  going 
to.  If  we  had  been  in  the  Court  when  Pharaoh 
said  to  Moses,  "Who  is  God,  that  I  should  obey 
Him  ?  "  and  ordered  him  out  of  his  presence,  we 
might  have  thought  it  meant  failure.  But  did  it? 
God  sent  Elijah  to  stand  before  Aliab,  and  it  was  a 
bold  thing  when  he  told  him  there  should  be  neither 
dew  nor  rain ;  but  didn't  he  lock  up  the  heavens  for 
three  years  and  six  months?  Now  here  is  God 
sending  his  own  beloved  Son  from  his  bosom,  from 
the  throne,  down  into  this  world.  Do  you  think 
He  is  going  to  fail?  Thanks  be  to  God,  He  can 
save  to  the  uttermost,  and  there  is  not  a  man  in 
this  city  who  may  not  find  it  so,  if  he  is  willing  to 
be  saved. 

7.  Bartimeus. — I  find  a  great  blessing  to  myself  in 
taking  up  a  passage  like  this,  and  looking  all  round 
it,  to  see  what  brought  it  out.     If  you  look  back  to 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  47 

the  close  of  tlie  eigliteentli  chapter,  you  will  find 
Christ  coming  near  the  city  of  Jericho.  And,  sit- 
ting by  the  wayside,  was  a  poor  blind  beggar.  Per- 
haps he  has  been  there  for  years,  led  out,  it  may  be, 
by  one  of  his  children,  or  perhaps,  as  we  sometimes 
see,  he  had  got  a  dog  to  lead  him  out.  There  he 
had  sat  for  years,  and  his  cry  had  been,  "Please 
give  a  poor  bhnd  man  a  farthing."  One  day,  as  he 
was  sitting  there,  a  man  came  down  from  Jerusa- 
lem, and  seeing  the  poor  blind  man,  took  his  seat 
by  his  side,  and  said,  "Bartimeus,  I  have  good  news 
for  you."  "What  is  it?"  said  the  blind  beggar. 
"  There  is  a  man  in  Israel  who  is  able  to  give  you 
sight."  "Oh  no,"  said  the  blind  beggar,  "there  is 
no  chance  of  my  ever  receiving  sight.  I  was  born 
blind,  and  nobody  born  bhnd  ever  got  sight.  I 
shall  Dever  see  in  this  world;  I  may  in  the  world  to 
come,  but  I  must  go  through  this  world  bhnd." 
"But,"  said  the  man,  "let  me  tell  you,  I  was  at 
Jerusalem  the  other  day,  and  the  great  Galilean 
prophet  was  there,  and  I  saw  a  man  who  was  born 
blind  that  had  received  his  sight;  and  I  never  saw 
a  man  with  better  sight."  Then  for  the  first  time 
hope  rises  in  the  poor  man's  heart,  and  he  aslis 
"  How  was  it  done  ?  "  "  Why,  Jesus  spat  on  the 
ground  and  made  some  clay,  and  anointed  his 
eyes"  (why,  that  is  enough  to  put  a  man's  sight 
out,  even  if  he  can  see ! )  "  and  sent  him  to  wash  in 
the  jDOol  of  Siloam,  and  while  he  was  doing  so,  he 
got  two  good  eyes.     Yes,  it  is  so.     I  talked  with 


48 


ADDRESSES 


liim,  and  I  didn't  see  a  man  in  all  Jerusalem  who 
had  better  sight."  "What  did  He  charge?"  says 
Bartimeus.  "  Nothing.  There  was  no  fee  or  doc- 
tor's bill ;  he  got  his  sight  for  nothing.  You  just 
tell  Him  what  you  want;  you  don't  need  to  have  an 
influential  committee  to  call  on  Him,  or  any  impor- 
tant deputation.  The  poor  have  as  much  influence 
with  Him  as  the  rich ;  all  are  alike."  *'  What  is 
his  name?"  asks  Bartimeus.  "Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
And  if  He  ever  comes  this  way,  don't  you  let  Him 
by,  without  getting  your  case  laid  before  Him." 
And  the  blind  man  says  "  That  you  may  be  sure  of; 
He  shall  never  pass  this  way  without  my  seeking 
Him." 

A  day  or  two  after,  he  is  led  out,  and  takes  his 
seat  at  the  usual  place,  still  crying  out  for  money. 
All  at  once,  he  hears  the  footsteps  of  a  coming  mul- 
titude, and  begins  to  cry,  "  Who  is  it  ?  "  "  Tell  me, 
who  is  it?  "  Some  one  said  it  was  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth that  was  passing  by.  The  moment  he  hears 
that,  he  says  to  himself,  "  Why,  that  is  the  man 
who  gives  sight  to  the  blind,"  and  he  lifted  up  his 
cry,  "  Jesus,  thou  Son  of  David,  have  mercy  upon 
me !  "  I  don't  know  who  it  was — perhaps  it  was 
Peter — who  said  to  the  man,  "Hush!  keep  still." 
He  thought  the  Lord  was  going  up  to  Jerusalem  to 
be  crowned  King,  and  He  would  not  like  to  be  dis- 
turbed by  a  poor  blind  beggar.  Oh  they  did  not 
know  the  Son  of  God  when  He  was  here!  He 
would  hush  every  harp  in  heaven  to  hear  a  sinner 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  49 

pray  ;  no  music  delights  Him  so  much.  But  Bar- 
timeus  lifted  up  his  voice  louder,  "Thou  Son  of  Da- 
vid, have  mercy  on  me."  His  prayer  reached  the 
eai'  of  the  Son  of  God,  as  prayer  always  will,  and 
His  footsteps  were  arrested.  He  told  them  to  bring 
the  man.  "Bartimeus,"  they  said,  "be  of  good 
cheer,  arise.  He  calleth  thee  ; "  and  He  never  called 
any  one,  but  He  had  something  good  in  store  for 
him.  Oh,  sinner!  remember  that  to-night.  They 
led  the  blind  man  to  Jesus.  The  Lord  says,  "What 
shall  I  do  for  you?  "  "Lord,  that  I  may  receive  my 
sight."  "You  shall  have  it,"  the  Lord  said;  and 
straightway  his  eyes  were  opened. 

I  should  have  liked  to  have  been  there,  to  see 
that  wonderful  scene.  The  first  object  that  met  his 
gaze  was  the  Son  of  God  Himself,  and  now  among 
the  shouting  multitude,  no  one  shouts  louder  than 
the  poor  blind  man  that  has  got  his  sight.  He 
glorifies  God,  and  I  fancy  I  can  hear  him  shouting 
"  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David,"  more  sweetly  than 
Mr.  Sankey  can  sing. 

8.  Zaccheus. — Pardon  me,  if  I  now  draw  a  little 
on  my  imagination.  Bartimeus  gets  into  Jericho, 
and  he  says,  "  I  will  go  and  see  my  wife,  and  tell  her 
about  it."  A  young  convert  always  wants  to  talk 
to  his  friends  about  salvation.  Away  he  goes  down 
the  street,  and  he  meets  a  man  who  passes  him, 
goes  on  a  few  yards,  and  then  turns  round  and 
says,  "Bartimeus,  is  that  you?"  "Yes."  Well,  I 
4 


50  ADDRESSES 

thought  it  was,  but  I  could  not  believe  my  eyes. 
How  have  you  got  your  sight  ?  "  "  Oh,  I  just  met 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  outside  the  cit}^  and  asked  Him 
to  have  mercy  on  me."  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth !  Yv^hat, 
is  He  in  this  part  of  the  country?"  "Yes.  He  is 
right  here  in  Jericho.  He  is  now  going  down  to 
the  western  gate."  "I  should  like  to  see  Him," 
says  the  man,  and  awa}^  he  runs  down  the  street; 
but  he  cannot  catch  a  ghmpse  of  Him,  even  though 
he  stands  on  tiptoe,  being  little  of  stature,  and  on 
account  of  the  great  throng  around  Him.  "  Well," 
he  says,  "I  am  not  going  to  be  disappointed;"  so 
he  runs  on,  and  climbs  up  into  a  sycamore  tree. 
"  If  1  can  get  on  to  that  branch,  hanging  right  over 
the  highway,  He  cannot  pass  without  my  getting  a 
good  look  at  Him."  That  must  have  been  a  very 
strange  sight  to  see  the  rich  man  climbing  up  a 
tree  like  a  boy,  and  hidhig  among  the  leaves,  where 
he  thought  nobody  would  see  him,  to  get  a  glimpse 
of  the  passing  stranger  !  There  is  the  crowed  burst- 
ing out,  and  he  looks  for  Jesus.  He  looks  at  Peter; 
'^That's  not  Him."  He  looks  at  John;  "That's 
not  Him."  At  last  his  eye  rested  on  One  fairer 
than  the  sons  of  men;  "That's  Him!"  And  Zac- 
cheus,  just  peeping  out  from  among  the  branches, 
looks  down  upon  the  wonderful  God-man  in  amaze- 
ment. At  last  the  crowd  comes  to  the  tree;  it  looks 
as  if  Christ  were  going  by  ;  but  He  stops  right  undei 
the  tree,  looks  up,  and  says,  "  Zaccheus,  make  haste 
and  come  down."     I  can  imagine  the  fii'st  thought 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  51 

in  his  mind  was,  "  Who  told  Him  my  name  ?  I  was 
never  introduced  to  Him."  Ah!  He  knew  him. 
Sinner,  Christ  knows  all  about  you.  He  knows 
your  name  and  your  house.  You  need  not  try  to 
hide  from  Him.  He  knows  where  you  are,  and  all 
about  you. 

9.  Sudden  Conveesions. — Some  people  do  not  be- 
lieve in  sudden  conversion.  I  should  like  them  to 
answer  me  when  was  Zaccheus  converted?  He  was 
certainly  in  his  sins  when  he  went  up  into  that  tree  ; 
he  certainly  was  converted  when  he  came  down.  He 
must  have  been  converted  somewhere  between  the 
branch  and  the  ground.  It  didn't  take  a  long  while 
to  convert  that  publican!  "Make  haste  and  come 
down.  I  shall  never  pass  this  way  again  ;  this  is 
my  last  visit."  Zaccheus  made  haste,  and  came 
down  and  received  Him  joyfully.  Did  you  ever 
hear  of  any  one  receiving  Christ  in  any  other  way? 
He  received  Him  joyfully.  Christ  brings  joy  with 
Him.  Sin,  gloom,  and  darkness  flee  away  ;  light, 
peace,  and  joy  burst  into  the  soul.  May  there  be 
many  that  shall  come  down  from  their  high  places, 
and  receive  Christ  to-night ! 

10.  Evidence  of  Zaccheus's  Conversion. — Some 
one  may  ask,  "How  do  you  know  that  he  was 
converted?"  I  think  he  gave  very  good  evidence. 
I  would  like  to  see  as  fruitful  evidence  of  conversion 
here  to-night.     Let  some  of  you  rich  men  be  con- 


52  ADDRESSES 

verted,  and  give  half  your  goods  to  feed  the  poor, 
and  people  will  believe  pretty  quickly  that  it  is  gen- 
nine  work !  But  there  is  better  evidence  even  than 
that.  "If  I  have  taken  any  thing  from  any  man 
falsely,  I  restore  him  fourfold.''  Very  good  evidence 
that.  You  say  if  people  are  converted  suddenly,  they 
won't  hold  out.  Zaccheus  held  out  long  enough  to 
restore  fourfold.  We  should  like  to  have  a  work 
that  reaches  men's  pockets.  I  can  imagine  one  of 
his  servants  going  to  a  neighbor  next  morning,  with 
a  check  for  iElOO,  and  handing  it  over.  "  What  is 
this  for  ?  "  "  Oh,  my  master  defrauded  you  of  iE25 
a  few  years  ago,  and  this  is  restitution  money." 
That  would  give  confidence  in  Zaccheus's  conver- 
sion !  I  wish  a  few  cases  like  that  would  happen 
here,  and  then  people  would  stop  talking  against 
sudden  conversions. 

11.  Pharisees'  Complaint. — The  Lord  goes  to  be 
the  publican's  guest,  and  while  He  is  there  the  Phar- 
isees began  to  murmur  and  complain.  It  would 
have  been  a  good  thing  if  Pharisees  had  died  off 
with  that  generation;  but,  unfortunately,  they  have 
left  a  good  many  grandchildren,  living  down  here  in 
the  afternoon  of  this  nineteenth  century,  who  are 
ever  complaiiniig,  "  This  man  receiveth  sinners.'* 
But  while  the  Pharisees  were  complaining,  the 
Lord  uttered  the  text  I  have  to-night,  *'  I  did  not 
come  to  Zaccheus  to  make  him  wretched,  to  condemn 
him,  to  torment  him  ;  I  came  to  bless  and  save  him. 


AND    BEST   THOUGHTS.  53 

The  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost." 

12.  Good  News. — If  there  is  a  man  or  woman  in 
this  audience  to-night  who  believes  that  he  or  she 
is  lost,  I  have  good  news  to  tell  you — Christ  is  come 
after  you.  I  was  at  the  Fulton  Street  prayer-meet- 
ing, a  good  many  years  ago,  one  Saturday  night,  and 
when  the  meeting  was  over,  a  man  came  to  me,  and 
said,  "  I  would  like  to  have  you  go  down  to  the  city 
prison  to-morrow,  and  preach  to  the  prisoners.  I 
said  I  would  be  very  glad  to  go.  There  was  no 
chapel  in  connection  with  that  prison,  and  I  was  to 
preach  to  them  in  their  cells.  I  had  to  stand  at  a 
httle  iron  railing  and  talk  down  a  great,  long  narrow 
passage  way,  to  some  three  or  four  hundred  of  them, 
I  suppose,  all  out  of  sight.  It  was  pretty  difficult 
work;  I  never  preached  to  the  bare  walls  before. 
When  it  was  over  I  thought  I  would  like  to  see  to 
whom  I  had  been  preaching,  and  how  they  had  re- 
ceived the  Gospel.  I  went  to  the  first  door,  where 
the  inmates  could  have  heard  me  best,  and  looked 
in  at  a  little  window,  and  there  were  some  men  play- 
ing cards.  I  suppose  they  had  been  playing  all  the 
while.  "How  is  it  with  you  here?  "  I  said.  "  Well, 
stranger,  we  don't  want  you  to  get  a  bad  idea  of  us. 
False  witnesses  swore  a  lie,  and  that  is  how  we  are 
here."  "Oh,"  I  said,  "  Christ  cannot  save  any  body 
here;  there  is  nobody  1081'*  I  went  to  the  next  cell. 
"  Well,  friend,  how  is  it  with  you  ?  "     "  Oh,"  said  the 


54  ADDRESSES 

prisoner,  "  the  man  that  did  the  deed  looked  yery 
much  like  me,  so  they  caught  me  and  I  am  here." 
He  was  innocent  too  !  I  passed  along  to  the  next 
cell.  "  How  is  it  with  you  ?  "  "  Well,  we  got  into 
bad  company,  and  the  man  that  did  it  got  clear,  and 
we  got  taken  up,  but  we  never  did  any  thing."  I 
went  along  to  the  next  cell.  "How  is  it  with  you?  " 
"Our  trial  comes  on  next  week,  but  they  have  noth- 
ing against  us,  and  we'll  get  free."  I  went  round 
nearly  every  cell,  but  the  answer  was  always  the 
same — they  had  never  done  any  thing.  Why,  I 
never  saw  so  many  innocent  men  together  in  my 
life!  There  was  nobody  to  blame  but  the  magis- 
trates, according  to  their  way  of  it.  These  men 
were  wrapping  their  filthy  rags  of  self-righteous- 
ness about  them.  And  that  has  been  the  story  for 
six  thousand  years.  I  got  discouraged  as  I  went 
through  the  prison,  on,  and  on,  and  on,  cell  after 
cell,  and  every  man  had  an  excuse.  If  he  hadn't 
one,  the  devil  helped  him  to  make  one.  I  had  got 
almost  through  the  prison,  when  I  came  to  a  cell 
and  found  a  man  with  his  elbows  on  his  knees,  and 
his  head  in  his  hands.  Two  little  streams  of  tears 
were  running  down  his  cheeks;  they  did  not  come 
by  drops  that  time. 

"What's  the  trouble?"  I  said.  He  looked  up 
the  picture  of  remorse  and  despair.  "Oh,  my  sina 
are  more  than  I  can  bear."  "  Thank  God  for  that," 
I  replied.  "What,"  said  he,  "you  are  the  man  that 
has  been  preaching  to  us,  ain't  you?  "     "Yes."     "I 


AND    BEST    THOt^cjJura. 


55 


think  you  said  Yo- -tire  a/mn^r'  "lam."  "And 
\-et  yon  '^'^  S^^^  that  my  sins  are  more  than  I  can 
iLrear!  "  "I  will  explain,"  I  said  ;  "if  your  sins  are 
more  than  you  can  bear,  won't  you  cast  them 
on  One  w^ho  will  bear  them  for  you?"  "Wha's 
that?"  "The  Lord  Jesus."  "He  won't  bear  my 
sins."  "Why  not?"  "I  have  sinned  against  Him 
all  my  life."  "  I  don't  care  if  you  have  ;  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ,  God's  Son,  cleanses  from  all  sin." 
Then  I  told  him  how  Christ  had  come  to  seek  and 
save  that  which  was  lost ;  to  open  the  prison  doors 
and  set  the  captives  free.  It  was  like  a  cup  of  re- 
freshment to  find  a  man  who  believed  he  was  lost, 
so  I  stood  there,  and  held  up  a  crucified  Saviour  to 
him.  "Christ  was  delivered  for  our  offences,  died 
for  our  sins,  rose  again  for  our  justification."  For 
a  long  time  the  man  could  not  believe  that  such  a 
miserable  wretch  could  be  saved.  He  went  on  to 
enumerate  his  sins,  and  I  told  him  that  the  blood 
of  Christ  could  cover  them  all.  After  I  had  talked 
with  him  I  said,  "Now  let  us  pray."  He  got  down 
on  his  knees  inside  the  cell,  and  I  got  down  outside, 
and  I  said,  "  You  pray."  "Why,"  he  said,  "  it  would 
be  blasphemy  for  me  to  call  on  God."  "You  call  on 
God,"  I  said.  He  knelt  down,  and,  like  the  poor 
publican,  he  lifted  up  his  voice  and  said,  "  God  be 
merciful  to  me,  a  vile  wretch!"  I  put  my  hand 
through  the  window,  and  as  I  shook  hands  with 
him  a  tear  fell  on  my  hand  that  burned  down  into 
my  soul.     It  was  a  tear  of  repentance.     He  believed 


56 


AJ)DRESSES 


he  was  lost.  Then  I  tried  to  gev  i,^^  ^o  believe  that 
Christ  had  conie  to  save  him.  I  left  i^i^  j^^^^l  in 
darkness.  *'  I  will  be  at  the  hotel,"  I  said,  "  be- 
tween nine  and  ten  o'clock,  and  I  will  pray  for 
yon." 

13.  Happy  Conveet. — ^Next  morning,  I  felt  so  much 
interested  in  him,  that  I  thought  I  must  see  him  be- 
fore I  went  back  to  Chicago.  No  sooner  had  my 
eye  lighted  on  his  face,  than  I  saw  that  remorse 
and  despair  had  fled  away,  and  his  countenance  was 
beaming  with  celestial  light ;  the  tears  of  joy  had 
come  into  his  eyes,  and  the  tears  of  despair  were 
gone.  The  Sun  of  Kighteousness  had  broken  out 
across  his  path  ;  his  soul  was  leaping  within  him 
for  joy  ;  he  had  received  Chivist,  as  Zaccheus  did, 
joyfully.  "Tell  me  about  it,"  I  said.  "Well,  I  do 
not  know  what  time  it  was  ;  I  think  it  was  about 
midnight.  I  had  been  in  distress  a  long  time,  when 
all  at  once  my  great  burden  fell  off,  and  now,  I  be- 
lieve I  am  the  happiest  man  in  New  York."  I  think 
he  was  the  happiest  man  I  saw  from  the  time  I  left 
Chicago  till  I  got  back  again.  His  face  was  lighted 
up  with  the  light  that  comes  from  the  celestial  hills. 
I  bade  him  good-by,  and  I  expect  to  meet  him  in 
another  world. 

Can  you  tell  me  why  the  Son  of  God  came  down 
to  that  prison  that  night,  and,  passing  cell  after  ceU, 
went  to  that  one,  and  set  the  captive  free  ?  It  waa 
because  the  man  believed  he  was  lost. 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  57 

14.  Sinner  Believe  You  are  Lost. — But  you  say, 
"7  do  not  feel  that."  Well,  never  mind  your  feel- 
ings; believe  it.  Just  ask  yourself,  "Am  I  saved,  or 
am  I  lost  ?  "  It  must  be  one  or  the  other.  There 
is  no  neutrality  about  the  matter.  A  man  cannot 
be  saved  and  lost  at  the  same  time;  it  is  impossi- 
ble. Every  man  and  woman  in  this  audience  must 
either  be  saved  or  lost,  if  the  Bible  be  true;  and  if  I 
thought  it  was  not  true,  I  should  not  be  here  preach- 
ing, and  I  would  not  advise  you  people  to  come; 
but  if  the  Bible  is  true,  every  man  and  every  woman 
in  this  room  must  either  be  in  the  ark  or  out  of  it, 
either  saved  or  lost. 

I  do  not  believe  there  would  be  a  dry  eye  in  this 
city  to-night,  if  we  would  but  wake  up  to  the  thought 
of  what  it  is  to  be  lost.  The  world  has  been  rocked 
to  sleep  by  Satan,  who  is  going  up  and  down  and 
telling  people  that  it  doesn't  mean  any  thing.  I 
believe  in  the  old-fashioned  heaven  and  hell.  Christ 
came  down  to  save  us  from  a  terrible  hell,  and  any 
man  who  is  cast  down  to  hell  from  England  must  go 
in  the  full  blaze  of  the  G  ospel,  and  over  the  mangled 
body  of  the  Son  of  God. 

15.  A  Lost  Soul. — "We  hear  of  a  man  who  has  lost 
his  health,  and  we  sympathize  Avith  him,  and  we  say 
it  is  very  sad.  Our  hearts  are  drawn  out  in  sympa- 
thy. Here  is  another  man  who  has  lost  his  wealth, 
and  we  say,  "That  is  very  sad."  Here  is  another 
man  who  has  lost  his  reputation,  his  standing  among 


58  ADDRESSES 

men.     "That  is  sadder  still,"  yon  say.     "VVe  know 
what  it  is  to  lose  health,  and  wealth,  and  reputation, 
bnt  what  is  the  loss  of  all  these  things  comj^ared 
with  the  loss  of  the  soul  ? 
) 

IG.  Lost  Eyesight. — I  was  in  an  eye  infirmary  in 
Chicago  some  time  ago,  before  the  great  fire.  A 
mother  brought  a  beautiful  little  babe  to  the  doctor 
— a  babe  only  a  few  months  old — and  wanted  the 
doctor  to  look  at  the  child's  eyes.  Pie  did  so,  and 
pronounced  it  blind — blind  for  life — it  will  never  see 
again.  The  moment  he  said  that,  the  mother  seized 
it,  pressed  it  to  her  bosom,  and  gave  a  terrible 
scream.  It  pierced  my  heart,  and  I  could  not  but 
weep.  What  a  fearful  thought  to  that  mother! 
"  Oh,  my  darling,"  she  cried,  "  are  you  never  to  see 
the  mother  that  gave  you  birth  ?  Oh,  doctor,  I  can- 
not stand  it.  My  child,  my  child !  "  It  was  a  sight 
to  move  any  heart.  But  what  is  the  loss  of  eyesight 
to  the  loss  of  a  soul  ?  I  had  a  thousand  times  rather 
have  these  eyes  taken  out  of  my  head  and  go  to  the 
grave  blind,  than  lose  my  soul.  I  have  a  son,  and 
no  one  but  Grod  knows  how  I  love  him ;  but  I  would 
see  those  eyes  dug  out  of  his  head  to-night  rather 
than  see  him  grow  up  to  manhood  and  go  down  to 
the  grave  without  Christ  and  without  hope.  The 
loss  of  a  soul !  Christ  knew  what  it  meant.  That 
is  what  brought  Him  from  the  bosom  of  the  Father; 
that  is  what  brought  Him- from  the  throne;  that  is 
what  brought  Him  to  Calvary.     The  Son  of  God 


AND   BEST   THOUGHTS.  59 

was  in  earDGst.  When  He  died  on  Calvary  it  was  to 
save  a  lost  world;  it  was  to  save  your  soul  and  mine. 
O  the  loss  of  the  soul — how  terrible  it  is !  If  you 
are  lost  to-night,  I  beseech  you  do  not  rest  until  you 
have  found  peace  in  Christ.  Fathers  and  mothers, 
if  you  have  children  out  of  the  Ark,  do  not  rest  until 
they  are  brought  into  it.  Do  not  discourage  your 
children  from  coming  to  Christ.  I  am  glad  to  see 
those  little  boys  and  girls  here.  Dear  children,  re- 
member the  sermon  is  for  you.  The  Son  of  Man 
came  for  you  as  much  as  for  that  old  gray-haired 
man,  yonder.  He  came  for  all,  rich  and  poor,  young 
and  old.  Young  man,  if  you  are  lost  may  God  show 
it  to  you,  and  may  you  press  into  the  kingdom.  The 
Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  you. 

17.  Story  of  Kowland  Hill. — There  is  a  story 
told  of  Rowland  Hill.  He  was  once  preaching  in 
the  open  air  to  a  vast  audience.  Lady  Anne  Erskine 
was  riding  by,  and  she  asked  who  it  was  that  was 
addressing  the  vast  assembly.  She  was  told  it  was 
the  celebrated  Rowland  Hill.  Says  she,  "I  have 
heard  of  him;  drive  me  near  the  platform,  that  I  may 
listen  to  him."  The  eye  of  Rowland  Hill  rested  on 
her;  he  saw  that  she  belonged  to  royalty,  and  turn- 
ing to  some  one,  he  inquired  who  she  was.  He  went 
on  preaching,  and  all  at  once  he  stopped.  "My 
friends,"  he  said,  "I  have  got  something  here  for 
sale."  Every  body  was  startled  to  think  that  a  min- 
ister was  going  to  sell  something  in  his  sermon.     "  I 


60  ADDRESSES 

am  going  to  sell  it  by  auction,  and  it  is  worth  more 
tlian  the  crown  of  all  Europe :  it  is  the  soul  of  Lady 
Anne  Erskiue.  Will  any  one  bid  for  her  soul? 
Hark !  methinks  I  hear  a  bid.  Who  bids  ?  Satan 
bids.  What  will  you  give?  I  will  give  riches, 
honor,  and  pleasure;  yea,  I  will  give  the  whole 
world  for  her  soul.  Hark !  I  hear  another  bid  for 
this  soul.  Who  bids?  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Je- 
sus, what  will  you  give  for  this  soul?  I  will  give 
peace,  and  joy,  and  comfort  that  the  world  knows 
not  of;  yea,  I  will  give  eternal  life  for  her  soul." 
Turning  to  Lady  Anne  Erskine,  he  said,  "You  have 
heard  the  two  bidders  for  your  soul — which  shall 
have  it?"  She  ordered  the  footman  to  open  the 
door,  and  pushing  her  way  through  the  crowd,  she 
says,  "  The  Lord  Jesus  shall  have  my  soul,  if  He  will 
accept  it." 

18.  Two  Bidders  for  the  Soul. — There  are  two 
bidders  for  your  soul  to-night.  It  is  for  you  to  de- 
cide which  shall  have  it.  Satan  offers  you  what  he 
cannot  give ;  he  is  a  liar,  and  has  been  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  I  pity  the  man  who  is 
living  on  the  devil's  promises.  He  lied  to  Adam, 
and  deceived  him,  stripped  him  of  all  he  had,  and 
then  left  him  in  his  lost,  ruined  condition.  And  all 
the  men  since  Adam  living  on  the  devil's  lies,  the 
devil's  promises,  have  been  disappointed,  and  will 
be,  down  to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  But  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  able  to  give  all  He  offers,  and  He 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  61 

offers  eternal  life  to  every  lost  soul  here.  "The 
gift  of  God  is  eternal  life."  Who  will  have  it  ?  Will 
any  one  flash  it  over  the  wires,  and  let  it  go  up  to 
the  throne  of  God,  that  you  want  to  be  saved  ?  As 
Mr.  Sankey  sang  of  that  shout  around  the  throne, 
my  heart  went  up  to  God,  that  there  might  be  a 
'great  shout  for  lost  ones  brought  home  to-night. 

19.  Christ  has  Sought  You. — Last  night  a  man 
yonder  told  me  he  was  anxious  to  be  saved,  but 
Christ  had  never  sought  for  him.  I  said,  "What 
are  you  waiting  for?"  "Why,"  he  said,  "I  am 
waiting  for  Christ  to  call  me;  as  soon  as  He  caUs 
me,  I  am  coming."  There  may  be  others  here  who 
have  got  the  same  notion.  Now,  I  do  not  believa 
there  is  a  man  in  this  city  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
has  not  striven  with  at  some  period  of  his  life.  I 
do  not  believe  there  is  a  person  in  this  audience  but 
Christ  has  sought  after  him.  Bear  in  mind.  He 
takes  the  place  of  the  seeker.  Every  man  who  has 
ever  been  saved  through  these  six  thousand  years 
was  first  sought  after  by  God.  No  sooner  did  Adam 
fall  than  God  sought  him.  He  had  gone  away  fright- 
ened, and  hid  himself  away  among  the  bushes  in  the 
garden,  but  God  took  the  place  of  the  Seeker;  and 
from  that  day  to  this  God  has  always  had  the  place 
of  the  Seeker.  No  man  or  woman  in  this  audience 
has  been  saved  but  that  He  sought  them  first. 

20.  The  Shepherd. — What  do  we  read  in  the  fif- 
teenth chapter  of  St.  Luke  ?    There  is  a  shepherd 


62  ADDRESSES 

bringing  home  his  sheep  into  the  fold.  As  they 
pass  in,  he  stands  and  numbers  them.  I  can  see 
him  counting  one,  two,  three,  up  to  ninety-nine. 
"But,"  says  he,  "I  ought  to  have  a  hundred:  I 
must  have  made  a  mistake;  "  and  he  counts  them 
over  again.  "  There  are  only  ninety-nine  here  ;  I 
must  have  lost  one."  He  does  not  say,  "  I  will  let 
him  find  his  own  way  back."  No !  He  takes  the 
place  of  the  Seeker;  he  goes  out  into  the  mountain, 
and  hunts  until  he  finds  the  lost  one,  and  then  he 
lays  it  on  his  shoulder  and  brings  it  home.  Is  it 
the  sheep  that  finds  the  shepherd?  No,  it  is  the 
shepherd  that  finds  and  brings  back  the  sheep.  He 
rejoiced  to  find  it.  Undoubtedly  the  sheep  was  very 
glad  to  get  back  to  the  fold,  but  it  was  the  shepherd 
who  rejoiced,  and  who  called  his  friends  and  said, 
"Kejoice  with  me." 

21.  The  Woman's  Money. — Then  there  is  that 
woman  who  lost  the  piece  of  money.  Some  one 
perhaps  had  paid  her  a  bill  that  day,  giving  her  ten 
pieces  of  silver.  As  she  retires  at  night,  she  takes 
the  mon^y  out  of  her  pocket  and  counts  it.  "  Why," 
she  says,  "1  have  only  got  nine  pieces;  I  ought  to 
have  ten."  She  counts  it  over  again.  "  Only  nine 
pieces!  Where  have  I  been,"  she  says,  "since  I  got 
that  money  ?  I  am  sure  I  have  not  been  out  of  the 
feouse."  She  turns  her  pocket  wrong  side  out,  and 
there  she  finds  a  hole  in  it.  Does  she  wait  until  the 
money  gets  back  into  her  pocket  ?    No.     She  takes 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  63 

a  broom,  and  liglits  a  candle,  and  sweeps  diligently. 
She  moves  the  sofa  and  the  table  and  the  chairs, 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  furniture,  and  sweeps  in 
every  corner  until  she  finds  it.  And  when  she  has 
found  it,  who  rejoices?  The  piece  of  money?  No; 
the  woman  who  finds  it.  In  these  parables  Christ 
brings  out  the  great  truth  that  God  takes  the  place 
of  Seeker.  People  talk  of  finding  Christ,  but  it  is 
Christ  who  first  finds  them. 

22.  Trouble  Develops  Love. — It  was  Adam's  fall, 
his  loss,  that  brought  out  God's  love.  God  never 
told  Adam  when  He  put  him  into  Eden,  that  He 
loved  him.  It  was  his  fall,  his  sin,  that  brought  it 
out.  A  friend  of  mine  from  Manchester  was  in 
Chicago  a  few  years  ago,  and  he  was  very  much  in- 
terested in  the  city — a  great  city,  with  its  300,000  or 
400,000  inhabitants,  with  its  great  railway  centres, 
its  lumber  market,  its  pork  market,  and  its  grain 
market.  He  said  he  went  back  to  Manchester  and 
told  his  friends  about  Chicago.  But  he  could  not 
get  any  body  very  much  interested  in  it.  It  was  a 
great  many  hundreds  of  miles  away ;  and  the  peo- 
ple did  not  seem  to  care  for  hearing  about  it.  But 
one  day  there  came  flashing  along  the  wire  the  sad 
tidings  that  it  was  on  fire  ;  and,  my  friend  said,  the 
Manchester  people  became  suddenly  interested  in 
Chicago !  Every  despatch  that  came  they  read ; 
they  bought  up  the  papers,  and  devoured  every 
particle  of  news.     And  at  last,  when  the  despatch 


64  ADDRESSES 

came  that  Chicago  was  burning  up,  that  100,000 
people  were  turned  out  of  house  and  home,  then 
every  one  became  so  interested  that  they  began  to 
weep  for  us.  They  came  forward  and  laid  down 
their  money — some  gave  hundreds  of  pounds — for 
the  relief  of  the  poor  sufferers.  It  was  the  calamity 
of  Chicago  that  brought  out  the  love  of  Manchester, 
and  of  London,  and  of  Liverpool.  I  was  in  that  ter- 
rible fire,  and  I  saw  men  that  were  wealthy  stripped 
of  all  they  had.  That  Sunday  night,  when  they  re- 
tired, they  were  the  richest  men  in  Chicago.  Next 
morning  they  were  paupers.  But  I  did  not  see  a 
man  weep.  But  when  the  news  came  flashing  along 
the  wire,  "  Liverpool  is  giving  a  thousand  pounds  ; 
Manchester  is  giving  a  thousand  pounds ;  London 
is  giving  money  to  aid  the  city  ; "  and  as  the  news 
kept  flashing  that  help  was  coming,  that  city  was 
broken-hearted.  I  saw  men  weep  then.  The  love 
that  was  showed  us,  that  love  broke  our  hearts.  So 
the  love  of  God  ought  to  break  every  heart  in  this 
city.  It  was  love  that  brought  Christ  down  here  to 
die  for  us.  It  was  love  that  made  Him  leave  His 
place  by  the  Father's  throne  and  come  down  here 
to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost. 

23.  Gkeat  Sinner  Geeater  Saviour.  —  Another 
young  man  told  me  last  night  that  he  was  too  great 
a  sinner  to  be  saved.  Why,  they  are  the  very  men 
Christ  came  after.  "This  Man  receiveth  sinners 
and  eateth  with  them."    The  only  charge  they  could 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  65 

bring  against  Chris fc  down  here  was,  that  He  was 
receiving  bad  men.  They  are  the  very  kind  of  men 
He  is  willing  to  receive.  All  you  have  got  to  do 
is,  to  prove  that  you  are  a  sinner,  and  I  will  prove 
that  you  have  got  a  Saviour.  And  the  greater  the 
sinner,  the  greater  need  you  have  of  a  Saviour. 
You  say  your  heart  is  hard;  well,  then,  of  course, 
you  want  Christ  to  soften  it.  You  cannot  do  it 
yourself.  The  harder  your  heart,  the  more  need 
you  have  of  Christ:  the  blacker  you  are,  the  more 
need  you  have  of  a  Saviour.  If  your  sins  rise  up 
before  you  like  a  dark  mountain,  bear  in  mind  that 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanses  from  all  sin. 
There  is  no  sin  so  big,  or  so  black,  or  so  corrupt 
and  vile,  but  the  blood  of  Christ  can  cover  it.  So 
I  preach  the  old  Gospel  again,  "  The  Son  of  Man  is 
come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost." 

24.  How  Cheist  Sought  Them. — But  now  for  the 
sake  of  these  men  who  believe  Christ  never  sought 
them,  perhaps  it  would  be  well  to  say  how  He  seeks. 
There  are  a  great  many  ways  in  which  He  does  so. 
Last  night  I  found  a  man  in  the  inquiry-room,  and 
the  Lord  had  been  speaking  to  him  by  the  prayers 
of  a  godly  sister  who  died  a  little  while  ago.  Her 
prayers  were  answered.  He  came  into  the  inquiry- 
room  trembling  from  head  to  foot.  I  talked  to  him 
about  the  plan  of  salvation,  and  the  tears  trickled 
down  his  cheeks,  and  at  last  he  took  Christ  as  his 
Saviour.  The  Son  of  Man  sought  out  that  young 
5 


66  ADDRESSES 

man  through  the  prayers  of  his  sister,  and  then 
through  her  death. 

Some  of  you  have  godly,  praying  mothers,  who 
have  prayed  whole  nights  for  your  soul,  and  who 
have  now  gone  to  heaven.  Did  not  you  take  their 
hand  and  promise  that  you  would  meet  them  there  ? 
That  was  the  Son  of  God  seeking  you  by  your 
mother's  prayers  and  your  mother's  death.  Some 
of  you  have  got  faithful,  godly  ministers  who  weep 
for  you  in  the  pulpit,  and  plead  with  you  to  come  to 
Christ.  You  have  heard  heart-searching  sermons, 
and  the  truth  has  gone  down  deep  into  your  heart, 
and  tears  have  come  down  your  cheeks.  That  was 
the  Son  of  God  seeking  you.  Some  of  you  have  had 
godly,  praying  Sabbath-school  teachers  and  super- 
intendents, urging  you  to  come  to  Christ.  Some  of 
you,  perhaps,  have  got  young  men  converted  round 
you,  and  they  have  talked  with  you  and  pleaded 
vv'ith  you  to  come  to  Christ.  That  was  the  Son  of 
God  seeking  after  your  soul.  Some  of  you  have 
had  a  tract  put  in  your  hand  with  a  startling  title, 
"Eternity;  Where  will  You  Spend  It?"  and  the 
arrow  has  gone  home.  That  was  the  Son  of  God 
seeking  after  you.  Many  of  you  have  been  laid  on 
a  bed  of  sickness,  when  you  had  time  to  think  and 
meditate.  And  in  the  silent  watches  of  the  night, 
when  every  body  was  asleep,  the  Spirit  of  God  has 
come  into  your  chamber,  has  come  to  your  bedside, 
and  the  thought  came  stealing  through  your  mind 
that  you  ought  to  be  a  child  of  God  and  an  heir  of 


AND   BEST   THOUGHTS.  67 

heaven.  That  was  the  Son  of  God  seeking  after 
your  lost  soul.  Some  of  you  have  had  little  chil- 
dren, and  you  have  laid  them  yonder  in  the  ceme- 
tery. When  that  little  child  was  dying  you  prom- 
ised to  love  and  serve  God  (ah,  Have  you  kept  your 
promise?)  That  was  the  Son  of  God  seeking  you. 
He  took  that  little  child  yonder  to  draw  your  affec- 
tions heavenwards. 

25.  Many  Ways. — It  would  take  me  all  night  to 
tell  the  different  ways  in  which  the  Lord  seeks.  Can 
you  rise  in  this  hall  to-night  and  say  that  the  Son  of 
God  never  sought  for  you  ?  I  do  not  believe  there 
is  a  man  or  woman  in  this  audience  or  in  the  whole 
city  who  could  do  it.  My  friend.  He  has  been  call- 
ing for  you  from  your  earliest  childhood,  and  He  has 
put  it  into  the  hearts  of  God's  own  people  just  to 
call  you  together  in  this  hall.  Prayer  is  going  up 
all  over  the  Christian  world  for  you.  Perhaps  there 
never  has  been  a  time  in  the  history  of  your  life 
when  so  many  were  praying  for  you  as  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  That  is  the  Son  of  God  seeking  for  your 
soul  through  the  prayers  of  the  Church,  through  the 
prayers  of  ministers,  through  the  prayers  of  the  saints 
not  only  in  London  but  throughout  the  world.  I 
have  received  news  to-day  in  a  despatch  sent  across 
from  America,  that  all  the  churches  nearly,  in  Amer- 
ica, are  praying  for  London.  What  does  it  mean  ? 
God  has  laid  it  upon  the  heart  of  the  Church 
throughout  the  world  to  pray  for  London.    It  must 


6S  ADDRESSES 

be  that  God  has  something  good  in  store  for  Lon- 
don ;  the  Son  of  Man  is  coming  to  London  to  seek 
and  to  save  that  which  was  lost ;  and  I  pray  that 
the  Good  Shepherd  may  enter  this  hall  to-night  and 
may  come  to  many  a  heart,  and  that  you  may  hear 
the  stni  small  voice  :  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door 
and  knock ;  if  any  man  hear  My  voice,  and  open  the 
door,  I  will  come  in  to  him  and  will  sup  with  him, 
and  he  with  Me."  O  friends,  open  the  door  to-night, 
and  let  the  heavenly  Visitor  in.  Do  not  turn  Him 
away  any  longer.  Do  not  say  with  Felix,  "  Go  thy 
way  this  time,  and  when  I  have  a  convenient  season 
I  wni  call  for  thee."  Make  this  a  convenient  sea- 
son ;  make  this  the  night  of  your  salvation.  Receive 
the  gift  of  God  to-night,  and  open  the  door  of  your 
heart,  and  say,  "  Welcome,  thrice  welcome  into  this 
heart  of  mine." 

SINNEES  SEEKING  CHEIST. 

26.  "  Seek  the  Lord  while  He  may  be  found  ;  call 
YE  upon  Him  while  He  is  near." — I  have  been  speak- 
ing about  the  Son  of  Man  seeking  the  lost ;  to-night 
I  want  to  take  up  the  other  side  of  the  case — man's 
side.  I  have  learned  this,  that  when  any  one  be- 
comes in  earnest  about  his  soul's  salvation  he  begins 
to  seek  God,  and  it  does  not  take  a  great  while  for 
them  to  meet ;  it  does  not  take  long  for  an  anxious 
sinner  to  meet  an  anxious  Saviour.  What  do  we 
read  in  the  29th  chapter  of  Jeremiah,  13th  verse? 
"Ye  shall  seek  Me  and  find  Me  when  ye  shall  search 


AND   BEST   THOUGHTS.  69 

for  Me  with  all  your  heart."  These  are  the  men  who 
find  Christ — those  who  seek  for  Him  with  all  their 
heart. 

27.  Half-heaetedness. — ^I  am  tired  and  sick  of 
half-heartedness.  You  don't  like  a  half-hearted 
man  ;  you  don't  care  for  any  one  to  love  you  with 
a  half  heart,  and  the  Lord  won't  have  it.  If  we  are 
going  to  seek  for  Him  and  find  Him,  we  must  do  it 
with  all  our  heart.  I  believe  the  reason  why  so  few 
people  find  Christ  is  because  they  do  not  search  for 
Him  with  all  their  heart ;  they  are  not  terribly  in 
earnest  about  their  soul's  salvation.  God  is  in  ear- 
nest ;  every  thing  God  has  done  proves  that  He  is 
in  earnest  about  the  salvation  of  men's  souls.  He 
has  proved  it  by  giving  his  only  Son  to  die  for  us. 
The  Son  of  God  was  in  earnest  when  He  died. 
What  is  Calvary  but  a  proof  of  that?  And  the 
Lord  wants  us  to  be  in  earnest  when  it  comes  to 
this  great  question  of  the  soul's  salvation.  I  never 
saw  men  seeking  Him  with  all  their  hearts  but  they 
soon  found  Him. 

28.  Not  Worth  Saving. — It  was  quite  refreshing, 
last  night,  to  find  in  the  inquiry-room  a  young  man 
who  thought  he  was  not  worth  saving,  he  was  so 
vile  and  wicked.  There  was  hope  for  him  because 
he  was  so  desperately  in  earnest  about  his  soul.  He 
thought  he  was  worthless.  He  had  got  a  sight  of 
himself  in  God's  looking-glass,  and  when  a  man  does 


70  ADDRESSES 

tliafc  he  has  a  very  poor  opinion  of  himself.  Yon 
can  always  tell  when  a  man  is  a  great  way  from  God 
— he  is  always  talking  about  himself,  and  how  good 
he  is.  But  the  moment  he  sees  God  by  the  eye  of 
faith  he  is  down  on  his  knees,  and,  like  Job,  he  cries.. 
"Behold,  I  am  vile."  All  his  goodness  flees  away. 
What  men  want  is  to  be  in  earnest  about  their  sal- 
vation, and  they  will  soon  find  Christ.  You  do  not 
need  to  go  up  to  the  heights  to  bring  Him  down, 
or  down  to  the  depths  to  bring  Him  up,  or  to  go  off 
to  some  distant  city  to  find  Him.  This  day  He  is 
near  to  every  one  of  us. 

29.  Bad  Advice. — I  heard  some  one  in  the  in- 
quiry-room telling  a  young  person  to  go  home  and 
seek  Christ  in  his  closet.  I  would  not  dare  to  tell 
any  one  to  do  that.  You  might  be  dead  before  you 
got  home.  If  I  read  my  Bible  correctly,  the  man 
who  preaches  the  Gospel  is  not  the  man  who  tells 
me  to  seek  Christ  to-morrow  or  an  hour  hence,  but 
now.  He  is  near  to  every  one  of  us  this  minute  to 
save.  If  the  world  would  just  come  to  God  for  sal- 
vation, and  be  in  earnest  about  it,  they  would  find 
the  Son  of  God  right  at  the  door  of  their  heart. 

30.  Worldly  Wisdom. — Suppose  I  should  say  I 
lost  a  very  valuable  diamond  here  last  night — I 
have  not,  but  suppose  it — worth  £20,000.  I  had  it 
in  my  pocket  when  I  came  into  the  hall,  and  when 
I  had  done  preaching  I  found  it  was  not  in  my 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  71 

pocket,  but  was  in  the  hall  somewhere.  And  sup- 
pose I  was  to  say  that  any  one  who  found  it  could 
have  it.  How  earnest  you  would  all  become !  You 
would  not  get  very  much  of  my  sermon  ;  you  would 
all  be  thinking  of  the  diamond.  I  do  not  believe 
the  police  could  get  you  out  of  this  hall.  The  idea 
of  finding  a  diamond  worth  £20,000  !  If  you  could 
only  find  it,  it  would  lift  you  out  of  poverty  at  once, 
and  you  would  be  independent  for  the  rest  of  your 
days.  Oh,  how  soon  every  body  would  become  ter- 
ribly in  earnest  then !  I  would  to  G-od  I  could  get 
men  to  seek  for  Christ  in  the  same  way.  I  have 
got  something  worth  more  than  a  diamond  to  ofier 
you.  Is  not  salvation — eternal  Hfe — worth  more 
than  all  the  diamonds  in  the  world  ?  Suppose  Ga- 
briel should  wing  his  way  from  the  throne  of  God 
and  come  down  here,  and  say  he  had  been  commis- 
sioned by  Jehovah  to 'come  and  offer  to  this  as- 
sembly any  one  gift  you  might  choose.  You  could 
have  just  what  you  chose,  but  only  one  thing.  What 
would  it  be  ?  The  wealth  of  England  or  of  the  world  ? 
Would  that  be  your  choice  ?  Ten  thousand  times, 
no  !     Your  one  cry  would  be,  "  Life !  eternal  life ! " 

31.  Yalue  of  Life. — There  is  nothing  men  value 
as  they  do  life.  Let  a  man  be  out  on  a  wreck  that 
is  fast  going  down.  He  is  worth  a  million  sterling, 
and  his  only  chance  is  to  give  up  that  milHon  ster- 
ling, just  to  save  the  life  of  the  body.  He  would 
give  it  up  in  a  moment.     "  Skin  for  skinj  aU  that 


72  ADDRESSES 

a  man  hath  will  he  give  for  his  life."  I  understand 
some  people  have  been  afraid  to  come  to  this  hall 
because  there  might  be  a  cry  of  "  Fire !  fire  ! "  and 
a  j)anic,  and  they  might  lose  their  lives.  Yet  there 
are  twenty  doors  to  the  buildiDg  ;  I  do  not  know 
that  I  ever  saw  a  building  that  you  could  get  easier 
out  of.  Yet  people  seem  to  sleep,  and  to  forget 
that  there  is  no  door  out  of  hell.  If  they  enter 
there  they  must  remain,  age  after  age.  Millions  on 
millions  of  years  wdll  roll  on,  but  there  will  be  no 
door,  no  escape  out  of  hell.  May  God  wake  up 
this  slumbering  congi'egation  and  make  you  anxious 
about  your  souls.  Peoj)le  talk  about  our  being  ear- 
nest and  fanatical — about  our  being  on  fire.  Would 
to  God  the  Church  was  on  fire ;  this  world  would 
soon  shake  to  its  foundation. 

32.  "  Cold  or  Hot," — "What  we  want  to  see  is  men 
really  wishing  to  become  Christians,  men  who  are 
in  dead  earnest  about  it.  The  idea  of  hearing  a  man 
say  in  answer  to  the  question,  "  Do  you  want  to  be- 
come a  Christian  ?  "  "  Well,  I  would  not  mind."  My 
friend,  I  do  not  think  you  will  ever  get  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  until  you  change  your  language. 
We  want  men  crying  from  the  depths  of  their  heart, 
"I  want  to  be  saved."  On  the  day  of  Pentecost  the 
cry  was,  "  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ?  " 
These  men  were  in  earnest,  and  they  found  Christ 
right  there  ;  three  thousand  found  Him,  when  they 
sought  with  all  their  hearts.     When  m^n  seek  Christ 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  73 

as  they  do  wealth,  they  will  soon  find  Him.     To  be 
sure  the  world  will  raise  a  cry  that  they  are  excited. 
Let  cotton  go  up  ten  or  fifteen  per  cent,  before  to- 
morrow morning,  and  you  will  see  how  quickly  the 
merchants  will  get  excited!     And  the  papers  don't 
cry  it  down  either.     They  say  it  is  healthy  excite- 
ment ;  commerce  is  getting  on.     Bnt  when  you  be- 
gin to  get  excited  about  your  soul's  salvation,  and 
are  in  earnest,  then  they  raise  the  cry,  "  Oh,  they  are 
getting  excited  ;  most  unhealthy  state  of  things." 
Yet  they  don't  talk  about  men  hastening  down  to 
death  by  thousands.     There  is  the  poor  drunkard, 
look  at  him !     Hear  the  piercing  cry  going  up  to 
heaven!     Yet   the   Church   of   God  slumbers   and 
sleeps.     Here  and  there  there  is  an  inquirer,  and 
yet  they  go  into  the  inquiry-room  as  if  they  were 
half  asleep.     When  will  men  seek  for  Christ  as  they 
seek  for  wealth,  or  as  they  seek  for  honor  ? 

33.  Wake  Up. — May  God  wake  up  a  slumbering 
Church !  What  we  want  men  to  do  is  not  to  shout 
"  Amen,"  and  clasp  their  hands.^  The  deepest  and 
quietest  waters  very  often  run  swiftest.  We  want 
men  to  go  right  to  work  :  there  will  be  a  chance  for 
you  to  shout  by  and  by.  Go  and  speak  to  yoar 
neighbor,  and  tell  him  of  Christ  and  heaven.  You 
need  not  go  a  few  yards  down  these  streets  before 
you  find  some  one  who  is  passing  down  to  the 
darkness  of  eternal  death.  Let  us  haste  to  the 
rescue ! 


74  ADDRESSES 

34.  Facing  Danger. — I  am  told  that  when  the  war 
broke  out  on  the  Gold  Coast,  though  it  was  known 
that  the  climate  was  a  very  unhealthy  one,  and  a 
great  many  who  went  there  would  never  return, 
yet  hundreds  and  thousands  of  men  wanted  to  go. 
Wliy  ?  They  wanted  to  get  wealth,  and  from  wealth 
honor.  And  if  there  is  a  chance  of  going  to  India, 
no  end  of  men  are  willing  to  go.  To  get  a  little 
honor  they  will  sacrifice  comfort,  pleasure,  health, 
and  every  thing.  What  we  want,  is  to  have  men 
seeking  the  kingdom  of  God  as  they  seek  for  honor 
and  wealth. 

35.  Life  in  Danger. — As  I  said,  if  life  is  in  dan- 
ger, how  terribly  in  earnest  men  become.  That  is 
right;  there  is  no  doubt  about  that.  But  why  should 
not  men  be  as  much  in  earnest  about  their  soul's 
salvation  ?  Why  should  not  every  man  and  woman 
here  wake  up  and  seek  the  Lord  with  all  their  heart  ? 
Then,  the  Lord  says,  you  shall  find  Him. 

36.  Power  of  Earnestness. — There  is  a  story  told 
of  a  vessel  that  was  wrecked,  and  was  going  down 
at  sea.  There  were  not  enough  life-boats  to  take  all 
on  board.  When  the  vessel  went  down,  some  ol 
the  life-boats  were  near  the  vessel.  A  man  swam 
from  the  wreck  just  as  it  was  going  down,  to  one  of 
the  boats  ;  but  they  had  no  room  to  take  him,  and 
they  refused.  When  they  refused,  he  seized  hold 
of  the  boat  with  his  right  hand,  but  they  took  a 


AND   BEST   THOUGHTS.  75 

sword  and  cut  off  his  fingers.  When  he  had  lost 
the  fingers  of  his  right  hand,  the  man  was  so  ear- 
nest to  save  his  life  that  he  seized  the  boat  with  his 
left  hand  ;  they  cut  off  the  fingers  of  that  hand  too. 
Then  the  man  swam  up  and  seized  the  boat  with 
his  teeth,  and  they  had  compassion  on  him  and 
relented.  They  could  not  cut  off  his  head,  so  they 
took  him  in,  and  the  man  saved  his  life.  Wliy? 
Because  he  was  in  earnest.  Why  not  seek  your  soul's 
salvation  as  that  man  sought  to  save  his  life? 

37.  Forty-three  Thousand  Souls  a  Day.  —  Will 
there  ever  be  a  better  time  ?  Will  there  ever  be  a 
better  time  for  that  old  man  whose  locks  are  grow- 
ing gray,  whose  eyes  are  growing  dim,  and  who  is 
hastening  to  the  grave  ?  Is  not  this  the  very  best 
time  for  him?  "Seek  the  Lord  tvhile  He  may  be 
found"  There  is  a  man  in  the  middle  of  life.  Is 
this  not  the  best  time  for  him  to  seek  the  kingdom 
of  God !  Will  you  ever  have  a  better  opportunity  ? 
Will  Christ  ever  be  more  -vvilling  to  save  than  now  ? 
He  says,  "Come,  for  all  things  are  now  ready." 
Not,  going  to  be,  but  are  now  ready.  There  is  a 
young  man.  My  friend,  is  it  not  the  best  time  for 
you  to  seek  the  kingdom  of  God  ?  Seek  the  Lord, 
you  can  find  Him  here  to-night.  Can  you  say  that 
you  will  find  Him  here  to-morrow  ?  Will  any  one 
rise  up  in  this  hall  and  say  that  ?  Young  man,  you 
know  not  what  to-morrow  may  bring  forth.  Do 
you  know  that  since  we  met  here  last  night  48,000 


76  ADDRESSES 

souls  have  passed  from  time  to  eternity  ?  Do  you 
know  that  every  time  the  clock  ticks  a  soul  passes 
away?  Is  not  this  the  best  time  for  you  to  seek 
the  kingdom  of  God  ? 

38.  Great  Eevival. — ^My  boy,  the  Lord  wants  you. 
Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  seek  Him 
while  He  may  be  found.  About  eighteen  years  ago, 
a  great  revival  swept  over  America.  A  great  many 
men  stood  and  shook  their  heads ;  they  could 
not  believe  it  was  a  healthy  state  of  things.  The 
Church  was  not  in  its  normal  state !  The  Church 
from  Maine  to  Minnesota,  and  on  to  California,  was 
astir.  And  as  you  passed  over  the  great  republic, 
over  its  western  prairies  and  mountains,  and  through 
its  valleys,  as  you  went  on  by  train,  and  as  you 
passed  through  its  cities  and  villages,  you  could  see 
the  churches  lit  up;  and  men  were  flocking  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  by  hundreds.  And  in  a  year  and 
a  half  or  two  years  there  were  more  than  half  a  mil- 
lion souls  brought  in.  Men  said  it  was  false  excite- 
ment, wildfire,  and  it  would  pass  away.  But,  my 
friends,  it  was  grace  preceding  judgment.  Little 
did  we  know  that  our  nation  was  soon  to  be  bap- 
tized in  blood,  and  that  we  would  soon  hear  the 
tramp  of  a  million  men,  that  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  our  young  men,  the  flower  of  our  nation, 
would  soon  be  lyiug  in  a  soldier's  grave.  But  oh, 
my  friends,  it  was  God  calling  his  people  in.  He 
was  j)reparing  our  nation  for  a  terrible  struggle. 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  77 

39.  What  is  Doing  Now. — And  now,  it  seems  to 
me  that  there  is  another  wave  of  blessing  passing 
over  this  earth.  Tidings  are  coming  from  all  parts 
of  the  world,  telling  us  of  the  great  work  God  is 
doing.  The  last  tidings  from  India,  told  us  of  a 
blessed  work  going  on  there.  The  last  tidings  from 
Japan  and  from  other  places — we  have  the  same  good 
news  of  God  pouring  out  his  Spirit.  It  was  only  the 
other  day  that  two  men  came  up  here  from  a  town  of 
50,000  inhabitants,  and  wanted  us  to  go  there;  but 
we  could  not,  and  we  told  them  to  go  home  and  get 
to  work  themselves.  To-day  one  of  them  told  us 
that  they  had  sixteen  last  night  in  the  inquiry-room. 
God  is  pouring  out  his  Spirit  everywhere.  Every- 
where men  are  putting  in  the  sickle  and  bringing 
their  sheaves  and  laving  them  at  the  feet  of  the 
Master.  I  believe  we  are  living  in  the  days  that 
our  fathers  prayed  for.  The  heavens  are  opened, 
and  the  Spirit  of  God  is  descending  upon  the  sons 
of  men. 

40.  A  Good  Time  to  Seek  Him. — Now,  this  time 
of  revival  is  a  good  time  to  seek  the  Lord.  "Will  you 
ever  have  a  better  time?  The  tidings  from  every 
cit}'  is  this — the  people  are  praying.  It  is  a  ques- 
tion in  my  mind  if  there  was  ever  so  much  prayer 
going  up  to  God  as  at  the  present.  Not  only  here, 
but  all  round  the  world,  we  have  God's  x^eople  mak- 
ing their  hearts  burdened  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 
And  is  it  not  God  working  ?    Will  there  ever  be  a 


78  ADDRESSES 

better  time  for  you  to  seek  tlie  kingdom  of  God  than 
the  present,  when  there  is  such  a  great  awakening, 
when  there  is  such  a  spirit  of  expectation;  when  the 
Church  of  God  is  coming  up  as  one  man,  and  the 
spirit  of  unity  prevails  ?  Think  of  the  praying  ones 
here.  Do  you  beheve  there  were  ever  so  many  men 
and  women  praying  for  your  soul  as  there  are  here 
to-night?  Look  over  this  audience — what  are  these 
Christians  doing  now !  They  are  silently  praying  to 
God.  I  can  see  they  are  praying.  There  is  a  young 
man  with  his  mother  sitting  by  his  side.  That 
mother  is  pleading,  "  God  save  my  boy  to-night !  " 
May  it  go  down  deep  into  his  soul !  "  Seek  ye  the 
Lord  while  He  may  be  found;  call  ye  upon  Him 
while  He  is  near." 

41.  Is  THE  Lord  Here. — Now,  let  me  ask  you  a 
question.  Do  you  believe  that  the  Lord  can  be 
found  here  to-night?  I  appeal  to  these  ministers 
present  at  my  side;  do  you  believe  He  can?  They 
answer  "Yes."  My  friends,  do  you  believe  it?  An- 
other Yes  comes  from  the  audience.  Well,  if  Ho 
can,  is  it  not  the  height  of  madness  for  any  man  or 
woman  to  go  out  of  this  hall  without  seeking  Him? 
If  He  can  be  found,  why  not  seek  Him?  Young 
lady,  why  not  seek  Him  with  all  your  heart?  Young 
man,  why  not  seek  Christ  to-night  wdth  all  your 
heart?  Why  not  say,  "I  must  he  saved"?  There 
is  nothing  so  important  as  this  great  question  of 
salvation. 


AND    REST    THOUGHTS.  79 

42.  They  Always  Find  Him. — Supposing  you  could 
win  the  world,  what  would  you  do  with  it  ?  Would 
it  be  worth  as  much  as  Christ  ?  Let  every  thing  else 
be  laid  aside,  and  make  up  your  minds  that  you  will 
not  rest  until  you  have  sought  and  found  the  Lord 
Jesus.  I  never  knew  any  one  make  up  his  mind  to 
seek  Him  but  he  soon  found  Him.  At  Dublin  a 
young  man  found  Christ.  He  went  home  and  lived 
so  godly  and  so  Christ-like,  that  two  of  his  brothers 
could  not  understand  what  had  wrought  the  change 
in  him.  They  left  Dublin  and  followed  us  to  Shef- 
field, and  found  Christ  there.  They  were  in  earnest. 
But,  thanks  be  to  God,  you  have  not  got  to  go  out 
of  this  hall.  Christ  can  be  found  here  to-night.  I 
firmly  believe  every  one  here  can  find  Christ  to- 
night if  you  will  seek  for  Him  with  all  your  heart. 
He  says,  "Call  upon  Me."  Did  you  ever  hear  of 
any  one  calling  on  Christ  with  the  whole  heart,  that 
Christ  didn't  answer?  Look  at  that  thief  on  the 
cross !  It  may  have  been  that  he  had  a  praying 
mother,  and  that  his  mother  taught  him  the  fifty- 
third  chapter  of  Isaiah.  He  had  heard  Christ  pray 
that  wonderful  prayer,  "  Father,  forgive  them."  And 
as  he  was  hanging  on  the  cross  that  text  of  Scripture 
came  to  his  mind,  "  Seek  the  Lord  while  He  may  be 
found;  .call  ye  upon  Him  while  He  is  near."  The 
truth  came  flashing  into  his  soul,  and  he  says,  "  He 
is  near  me  now;  I  will  call  on  Him.  Lord,  remem- 
ber me  when  Thou  comest  into  thy  kingdom."  No 
sooner  had  he  called  than  the  Lord  said,  "  This  day 


80  ADDRESSES 

shalt  tbou  be  with  Me  in  paradise."  That  was  his 
seeking  opportunity,  his  day.  My  friends,  this  is 
your  day  now.  I  beheve  that  every  man  has  his 
day.  You  have  it  just  now;  why  not  call  upon  Him 
just  now?  Say,  as  the  poor  thief  did,  "Lord,  re- 
member me."  That  was  his  golden  opportunity, 
and  the  Lord  heard  and  answered  and  saved  him. 
Did  not  Bartimeus  call  on  Him  while  He  was  near  ? 
Christ  was  passing  by  Jericho  for  the  last  time,  and 
he  cried  out,  "  Thou  Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on 
me."  And  did  not  the  Lord  hear  his  prayer,  and 
give  him  his  sight  ?  It  was  a  good  thing  Zaccheus 
called — or  rather  the  Lord  called  him,  but  when  the 
Lord  called  he  came.  May  the  Lord  call  many  here, 
and  may  you  respond,  "Lord,  here  am  I;  you  have 
called  and  I  come."  Do  you  believe  the  Lord  will 
call  a  poor  sinner,  and  then  cast  him  out  ?  No ! 
His  word  stands  forever,  "  Him  that  cometh  to  Me 
I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

43.  "Without  a  Chaeacter. — I  was  glad  when  that 
man  I  told  you  of,  said  he  felt  as  if  he  was  too  bad. 
Men  are  pretty  near  the  kingdom  of  God  when  they 
do  not  see  any  thing  good  in  themselves.  At  the 
Fulton  Street  Prayer-meeting  a  man  came  in,  and 
this  was  his  story.  He  said  he  had  a  mother  who 
prayed  for  him ;  he  was  a  wild,  reckless  prodigal. 
Some  time  after  his  mother's  death  he  began  to  be 
troubled.  He  thought  he  ought  to  get  into  new 
company,  and  leave  his   old   companions.     So   he 


AND   BEST   THOUGHTS.  81 

Said  lie  would  go  and  join  a  secret  society ;  lie 
thouglit  he  would  join  the  Odd  Fellows.  They 
went  and  made  inquiry  about  him,  and  they  found 
he  was  a  drunken  sailor,  so  they  blackballed  him. 
They  would  not  have  him.  He  went  to  the  Free- 
masons; he  had  nobody  to  recommend  him,  so  they 
inquired  and  found  there  was  no  good  in  his  char- 
acter, and  they  too  blackballed  him.  They  didn't 
want  him.  One  day,  some  one  handed  him  a  little 
notice  in  the  street  about  the  prayer-meeting,  and 
he  went  in.  He  heard  that  Christ  had  come  to 
save  sinners.  He  believed  Him;  he  took  Him  at 
at  His  word;  and,  in  reporting  the  matter,  he  said 
he  "came  to  Christ  without  a  character ^  and  Christ 
hadn't  blackballed  him." 

My  friends,  that  is  Christ's  way.  Is  there  a  man 
here  with<5riit  a  character,  with  nobody  to  say  a 
good  word  for  him  ?  I  bring  you  good  news.  Call 
on  the  Son  of  God,  and  He  will  hear  you.  Call  on 
him  to-night. 

44.  A  SoLiTABY  Woman. — I  was  at  a  meeting  for 
ministers  the  other  day.  Up  in  the  gallery  there 
was  one  solitary  woman ;  she  sat  there  alone.  When 
the  meeting  was  over  and  I  was  passing  out,  she 
came  and  said,  "  Mr.  Moody,  do  you  remember  me?  " 
*'  Oh  yes,"  I  said,  "I  remember  you."  Where  had 
I  met  her?  Mr.  Sankey  and  myself  were  leaving 
Dundee  for  the  north  of  Scotland.  There  was  a 
lady  who  had  come  from  London  and  brought  het 
6 


82  ADDRESSES 

two  boys  all  the  way  to  get  blessed;  they  must 
have  been  about  eighteen  or  nineteen — twins.  That 
mother's  heart  was  burdened  for  their  salvation. 
The  last  night  we  had  a  meeting  there,  one  of  the 
sons  yielded  himself  up  to  Christ,  and  the  mother 
went  back  next  morning  with  her  two  boys,  rejoic- 
ing that  they  had  asked  and  found  peace  in  believ- 
ing. Some  people  may  say  that  she  was  a  great  fa- 
natic for  going  all  the  way  from  London  to  Dundee 
with  her  boys  to  get  a  blessing.  But  last  Friday 
she  says,  "My  boy,  who  found  the  Lord  in  Dun- 
dee, died  three  weeks  ago."  And  as  she  pressed  my 
hand  as  I  left  the  meeting,  I  said  to  myself,  "  Was 
it  not  a  good  thing  that  mother  took  her  boy  to 
Dundee  ?  "  My  friends,  let  us  be  in  earnest  about 
the  salvation  of  our  children,  and  of  our  friends. 
Warn  that  young  lady.  Yes,  mother,  speak  to  that 
daughter  of  yours.  Father,  speak  to  that  child  of 
yours.  Wife,  speak  to  your  unconverted  husband; 
husband,  speak  to  your  unconverted  wife.  Do  not 
let  a  man  go  out  of  this  house  saying,  *' Nobody 
cared  for  my  soul."  I  never  saw  a  motiier  bur- 
dened for  her  children  but  they  soon  became  anx- 
ious. Oh  may  there  be  many  a  sinner  seeking  the 
kingdom  of  God  with  all  their  heart ! 

45.  What  are  You  going  to  Do  ? — Before  I  close, 
I  want  to  ask  you  once  more,  "  What  are  you  goiug 
to  do?  If  the  Lord  is  near,  won't  you  call  upon 
Him  ?    Don't  let  that  scoffing  man  next  you  keep 


AND    BEST   THOUGHTS.  83 

you  out  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  There  is  a  scorn- 
ful look  upon  that  man's  face;  perhaps  he  is  mak- 
ing light  of  what  I  am  saying.  Don't  mind  him; 
don't  look  to  him;  but  just  look  right  up  to  God, 
and  ask  Him  to  save  you.  Now,  every  true  friend 
— and  you  all  have  friends — every  true  friend,  if 
you  could  get  his  advice  to-night,  would  tell  you  to 
be  saved  now.  Ask  that  minister  sitting  next  you, 
*'Had  I  better  seek  the  kingdom  of  God  to-night?  " 
What  does  he  tell  you  ?  *'  By  all  means,  don't  put 
it  off  another  minute."  Ask  that  godly  praying 
mother  by  your  side,  "Is  it  best  to  seek  the  king- 
dom of  God  to-night  ?  "  Does  she  say,  Put  it  off 
one  week,  or  put  it  off  one  month  ?  Do  you  think 
that  mother  would  say  that  ?  There  is  not  a  Chris- 
tian mother  in  this  hall  who  would  say  it.  I  doubt 
if  there  is  an  unconverted  mother  even  here  whose 
advice  would  be  to  put  off  becoming  a  Christian. 
Ask  that  praying  sister  of  yours,  ask  that  praying 
brother,  ask  any  friend  you  have  here — if  you  are 
sitting  near  one — whether  it  is  not  the  very  best 
thitig  you  can  do.  And  then  cry  up  to  heaven  and 
ask  Him  who  is  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  God, 
and  who  loves  you  more  than  your  father  or  your 
mother,  or  any  one  on  earth — who  loves  you  so 
much  that  He  gave  Himself  for  you;  ask  Him  what 
He  will  have  you  do,  and  hear  His  voice  from  the 
throne,  "  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God."  And 
then  shout  down  to  the  infernal  regions,  and  ask 
those  down  there,  and  what  will  they  say  ?     "  Send 


84  ADDRESSES 

some  one  to  my  father's  house,  for  I  have  five  breth- 
ren, that  he  may  testify  unto  them,  lest  they  also 
come  into  this  place."  Heaven,  earth,  and  hell 
unite  in  this  one  thing,  "  Seek  first  the  kingdom  of 
God."  Don't  put  it  off.  Call  upon  Him  while  He 
is  near.  And  if  you  call  upon  Him  in  real  earnest 
He  will  hear  that  call. 

46.  Last  Call  ! !  — ^You  may  call  too  late.  I  have 
no  doubt  that  those  who  would  not  pray  when  the 
ark  was  building  prayed  when  the  flood  came,  but 
their  prayer  was  not  answered.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  when  Lot  went  out  of  Sodom,  Sodom  cried  to 
God,  but  it  was  too  late,  and  God's  judgment  swept 
them  from  the  earth.  My  friends,  it  is  not  too  late 
now,  but  it  may  be  at  twelve  o'clock  to-night.  I 
cannot  find  any  place  in  this  Bible  where  I  can  say 
you  may  call  to-morrow.  I  am  not  justified  in  say- 
ing that.  "  Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time,  now 
is  the  day  of  salvation."  Those  men  of  Jerusalem, 
what  a  golden  opportunity  they  had,  with  Christ  in 
their  midst.  ^Ye  see  the  Son  of  God  weeping  over 
Jerusalem,  His  heart  bursting  with  grief  for  the  city, 
as  He  cried,  "O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem!  thou  that 
Btonest  the  prophets,  how  often  would  I  have  gath- 
ered thee  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  brood,  but  je  would 
not."  He  could  look  dovm  forty  years,  and  see  Ti- 
tus coming  with  his  army,  and  besieging  that  city. 
They  called  upon  God  then,  but  it  was  too  late,  and 
eleven  hundred  thousand  people  perished.    To-night 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  85 

is  a  time  of  mercy.  It  may  be  I  am  talking  to  some 
one  to-night  whose  days  of  grace  may  be  few,  to 
some  one  who  may  be  snatched  away  Tery  soon. 
There  may  be  some  one  here  to-night  who  may 
never  hear  another  Gospel  sermon ;  some  one  who 
may  be  hearing  the  last  call.  My  friend,  be  wise  to- 
night. Make  up  your  mind  that  you  will  seek  the 
kingdom  of  God  now.  "  Behold,  now  is  the  accepted 
time;  behold,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation."  Christ 
is  inviting  you  to  come — "Come  unto  Me,  all  ye 
that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest."  Oh,  may  we  all  find  rest  in  Christ  to-night ! 
Do  not  let  any  thing  divert  your  minds,  but  this 
night,  this  hour,  make  up  your  mind  that  you  will 
not  leave  this  hall  until  the  great  question  of  eter- 
nity has  been  settled. 


47.  Self-kighteousness. — An  artist  wanted  a  man 
that  would  represent  the  prodigal.  One  day,  he 
met  a  poor  beggar,  and  he  thought — "That  man 
would  represent  the  prodigal."  He  found  the  beg- 
gar ready  to  sit  for  his  painting  if  he  would  -pay 
him.  The  man  appeared  on  the  day  appointed,  but 
the  artist  did  not  recognize  him.  He  said,  "You 
made  an  appointment  with  me."  "No,"  says  the 
artist,  "I  never  saw  you  before."  "You  are  mis- 
taken; you  did  see  me,  and  made  an  appointment 
with  me."  "No,  it  must  be  some  other  artist.  I 
have  an  ap^Dointment  to  meet  a  beggar  here  at  this 


86  ADDRESSES 

hour."  "Well,"  says  the  beggar,  "I  am  the  man.'' 
"You  the  man?"  "Yes."  "What  have  you  been 
doing  ?  "  "  Well,  I  thought  I  would  get  a  new  suit 
of  clothes  before  I  got  painted."  "Well,"  says  the 
artist,  "I  don't  want  you;"  he  would  not  have  him 
then.  And  so  if  you  are  coming  to  God,  come  just 
as  you  are.  Do  not  go  and  put  on  some  garments 
of  yours,  and  think  the  Lord  will  accept  you  because 
you  have  some  good  thoughts  and  desires. 

48.  Conversion  of  Children. — I  was  urging  the 
early  conversion  of  children  in  a  meeting,  and  an 
old  man  got  up  at  the  close  and  said,  "  I  want  to 
endorse  every  word.  Sixteen  years  ago  I  was  in  a 
heathen  country,  a  missionary,  and  my  wife  died  and 
left  three  little  childi*en.  On  the  Sabbath  after  her 
death  my  eldest  girl  came  to  me  and  said,  '  Papa, 
shall  I  take  the  children  into  the  bedroom  and  pray 
with  them  as  mother  used  to  ? ' "  The  mother  was 
dead,  and  httle  Nellie,  ten  years  old,  wanted  to  fol- 
low in  her  footsteps.  The  father  said  yes,  and  she 
led  them  off  to  the  chamber  to  pray.  When  they 
came  out  he  noticed  that  they  had  been  weeping, 
and  asked  what  about.  "Well,  father,"  said  the  Ht- 
tle girl,  "I  prayed  just  as  mother  taught  me,  and 
then  " — naming  her  little  brother — "  he  prayed  the 
prayer  that  mother  taught  him;  but  little  Susie,  she 
was  too  young,  mother  had  not  taught  her  a  prayer, 
so  she  made  a  prayer  of  her  own,  and  I  could  not 
help  but  weep  to  hear  her  pray."     "Why,"  said  the 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  87 

father,  "what  did  she  say?'*  "Why  she  put  up 
her  little  hands,  and  closed  her  eyes,  and  said,  *  O 
God,  you  have  come  and  taken  away  my  dear  mam- 
ma, and  I  have  no  mamma  to  pray  for  me  now — 
won't  you  please  make  me  good  just  as  my  dear 
mamma  was,  for  Jesus'  sake.  Amen;'"  and  God 
heard  that  prayer.  That  little  child  before  she  was 
four  years  old  gave  evidence  of  being  a  child  of  God, 
and  for  sixteen  years  she  was  in  that  heathen  coun- 
try leading  little  children  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

49.  The  Dying  Soldier's  Roll- Call. — A  soldier 
lay  on  his  dying  couch  during  our  last  war,  and 
they  heard  him  say  "  Here !  "  They  asked  him 
what  he  wanted,  and  he  put  up  his  hand  and  said, 
"  Hush !  they  are  calling  the  roll  of  heaven,  and  I 
am  answering  to  my  name,"  and  presently  he  whis- 
pered, "  Here!  "  and  he  was  gone. 

50.  Faith  then  "Works. — ^You  cannot  do  any  thing 
to  please  God  until  you  believe.  Suppose  I  should 
say  to  my  little  girl,  "  Emma,  go  and  get  me  a  glass 
of  water,"  and  she  was  to  say,  "  I  don't  want  to  do 
it,  papa."  She  goes  into  another  room  and  some 
one  gives  her  a  cluster  of  grapes,  which  she  decides 
to  give  to  her  papa.  Do  you  think  these  grapes 
would  be  acceptable  if  she  did  not  want  to  get  the 
water?  I  should  say,  "I  do  not  want  the  grapes 
until  you  have  brought  the  water."    She  goes  out  of 


88  ADDRESSES 

the  room  again,  and  some  one  gives  her  an  orange. 
If  she  brought  the  orange  to  me,  do  you  think  I 
should  want  it  ?  no,  and  that  child  cannot  do  any 
thing  to  please  me  until  I  get  the  water.  You  can- 
not please  God  until  you  believe  on  His  Son. 

51.  A  Mother's  Love. — ^In  the  time  of  the  Cali- 
fornian  gold  fever  a  man  went  to  the  diggings,  and 
left  his  wife  to  follow  him  some  time  afterwards. 
While  on  her  voyage  with  her  little  boy  the  vessel 
caught  fire,  and  as  there  was  a  powder  magazine  ou 
board  the  captain  knew  when  the  flames  reached  it 
the  ship  would  be  blown  up.  The  fire  could  not  be 
got  under,  so  they  took  to  the  life-boats,  but  there 
was  not  room  for  all.  As  the  last  boat  pushed  off 
the  mother  and  boy  stood  on  the  deck.  One  of  the 
sailors  said  there  was  room  for  another.  What  did 
the  mother  do  ? — she  gave  up  her  boy.  She  kissed 
him,  and  told  him  if  he  lived  to  see  his  father  to 
tell  him  she  died  to  save  her  boy.  Do  you  think 
when  that  boy  grew  up  he  could  fail  to  love  that 
mother  who  died  to  save  him  ?  My  friends,  this  is  a 
faint  type  of  what  Christ  has  done  for  you  and  me. 

52.  "  Jesus  Pays  It  All." — When  Eev.  Mr.  Arnot 
was  pastor  of  a  church  in  Glasgow  he  heard  of  a 
woman  in  trouble.  She  could  not  pay  her  debts 
and  she  could  not  pay  her  rent;  so  he  went  round 
to  her  house  thinking  he  would  help  her.  He 
knocked  at  the  door  twice  but  no  one  came.     He 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  OV 

knocked  the  third  time  very  loud  but  all  was  still. 
After  waiting  he  made  a  great  noise  and  at  last  left 
the  house.  Some  days  after  he  met  the  woman  in 
the  street,  and  said,  "  I  was  at  your  house  the  other 
day.  I  heard  you  were  in  trouble  and  went  to  help 
you."  "  Was  that  you  ?  I  was  in  the  house  but  I 
thought  it  was  the  landlord  come  for  the  rent  and 
as  I  had  not  got  the  money  I  kept  the  door  locked." 
That  woman  represents  the  sinner.  A  sinner  thinks 
God  is  coming  to  demand  something.  God  comes 
to  give  and  bless.     Jesus  comes  to  pay  the  debt. 

53.  Unity  Through  Christ. — The  blood  of  Christ 
makes  us  one.  During  the  days  of  slavery  in  Amer- 
ica, when  there  was  much  political  strife  and  strong 
prejudice  against  the  black  men,  especially  by  Irish- 
men, I  heard  a  preacher  say  when  he  came  to  the 
cross  for  salvation  he  found  a  poor  negro  on  the 
right  hand,  and  an  Irishman  on  the  left  hand,  and 
the  blood  came  trickling  down  upon  them  and  made 
them  one.  There  may  be  strife  in  the  world,  but 
every  one  Christ  has  redeemed  He  has  made  one. 
We  are  blood  relatives. 

54.  The  Precious  Blood. — During  the  American 
war  a  doctor  heard  a  man  saying,  "Blood,  blood, 
blood ! "  The  doctor  thought  this  was  because  he 
had  seen  so  much  blood,  and  sought  to  divert  his 
mind.  The  man  smiled,  and  said,  "  I  wasn't  think- 
ing of  the  blood  upon  the  battle-field,  but  I  was 


90  ADDRESSES 

thinking  how  precious  the  blood  of  Christ  is  to  me 
as  I  am  dying."  As  he  died,  hie  lips  quivered, 
"Blood,  blood,  blood!"  and  he  was  gone.  It  will 
be  precious  when  we  come  to  our  dying  bed — it  wiU 
jbe  worth  more  than  all  the  world  then. 
i 

55.  Julian  Conquered. — It  is  said  of  Julian,  the 
apostate  in  Rome,  that  when  he  was  trying  to  stamp 
out  Christianity,  he  was  pierced  in  the  side  by  an 
arrow.  He  pulled  the  arrow  out,  and  taking  a  hand- 
ful of  blood  as  it  flowed  from  the  wound,  threw  it 
into  the  air,  shouting,  *'Thou  Galilean,  Thou  hast 
conquered ! " 

56.  Cookman's  Triumph. — ^You  may  have  read  of 
that  good  man  in  America,  Alfred  Cookman.  While 
his  friends  were  gathered  round  his  dying  couch  his 
face  lit  up,  and  with  a  shout  of  triumph,  he  said,  "  I 
am  sweeping  through  the  gates,  washed  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb ! "  And  this  echoes  and  re-echoes 
through  America  to-day,  "I  am  sweeping  through 
the  gates,  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb !  " 

57.  Christ  and  Hypocrites. — Some  people  say, 
"I  have  no  doubt  about  the  Word  of  God,  but  there 
are  some  men  in  the  church  that  ought  not  to  be 
there  ;  therefore,  I  do  not  purpose  to  go  into  the 
church."  I  am  not  asking  you  to  come  into  the 
church — not  but  what  I  believe  in  churches  ;  but  I 
am  asking  you  to  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb. 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  91 

But  you  say,  here  are  some  hypocrites.  "  Here  is  a 
man  up  here  in  one  of  the  churches  that  cheated  me 
out  of  £5  a  few  years  ago,  and  you  are  not  going  to 
catch  me  in  the  company  of  hypocrites."  Well,  my 
friend,  if  you  want  to  get  out  of  the  company  of  hypo- 
crites, you  had  better  get  out  of  the  world  as  quick 
as  you  can.  One  of  the  twelve  apostles  turned  out 
to  be  a  hypocrite,  and  there  is  no  doubt  there  will 
be  hypocrites  in  the  church  to  the  end  of  time. 
But  "  what  is  that  to  thee  ?  "  says  Christ  to  Peter  ; 
"follow  thou  Me."  We  do  not  ask  you  to  follow 
hypocrites,  we  ask  you  to  follow  Christ;  we  do  not 
ask  you  to  believe  in  hypocrites,  we  ask  you  to  be- 
lieve in  Christ.  Another  thing,  if  you  want  to  get 
out  of  the  company  of  hypocrites  you  had  better 
make  haste  and  come  to  Christ.  There  will  be  no 
hypocrites  at  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb  ; 
they  will  all  be  in  hell,  and  you  will  be  there  with 
them  if  you  do  not  make  haste  and  come  to  Christ. 

58.  I  Don't  Feel  Eight. — There  is  a  class  who 
say,  "  I  would  like  to  come  to  Christ,  but  I  do  not 
feel."  That  is  the  very  worst  and  the  most  common 
excuse  we  have.  I  wish  sometimes  the  word  could 
be  abolished — feel,  feel.  Supposing  my  friend  Mr. 
Stone  should  invite  me  to  his  house  to  dinner,  and 
I  say,  ''  I  would  like  to  go  very  much,  but  I  don't 
know  as  I  feel  right."  "Well,"  he  says,  "what  do 
you  mean  ?  Don't  you  want  to  go  to  my  house  ?  " 
"  Oh,  yes,  I  want  to  go."    Men  say — "  Oh,  yes,  we 


92  ADDRESSES 

want  to  be  saved."  ""What  do  you  mean,  Mr. 
Moody?  Do  you  mean  that  you  do  not  know  as 
you  will  be  well  to-morrow?  Do  you  think  you 
will  be  sick  ?  "  "  Oh,  no,  I  expect  to  be  well  to-mor- 
row if  I  live."  "  Well,  w^hat  do  you  mean  by  feel- 
lig?"  "Well,  I  do  not  know  just  how  I'll  feel.  I 
would  like  to  go  to  your  house  to  dinner  to-mor- 
row, but  I  don't  know  as  I  will  feel  just  right."  "  I 
don't  understand  you,  Mr.  Moody  ;  I  am  not  talk- 
ing about  feeling  ;  I  invite  you  to  come  to  my  house 
to  dinner."  "  Well,  I  would  like  to  come  very  much, 
but  the  fact  is  I  do  not  know  how  I  will  feel  to-mor- 
row." I  can  imagine  my  friend  Mr.  Stone  saying, 
"  What  has  come  over  Moody  ?  I  asked  him  to  my 
house  to  dinner,  and  he  says  he  would  Hke  to  come, 
but  he  does  not  know  as  he  will  feel  right,  and  he 
talked  about  feehng  all  the  time."  That  is  the  way 
people  talk  now.  You  talk  to  them  about  coming 
to  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  they  say,  "I  do  not 
know  as  I  feel  just  right." 

59.  Heaven  a  Reality. — I  believe  heaven  is  a  city 
quite  as  real  as  London  is.  What  we  want  is  to 
make  heaven  real,  and  hell  real,  and  God  real,  and 
Christ  real,  and  then  live  as  if  we  believed  these 
things  to  be  real. 

60.  What  God  Wants. — I  heard  of  an  English- 
man that  when  the  Lord  converted  him,  had  a 
great  desire  to  see  every  man  converted.     So  he 


AND   BEST   THOUGHTS.  93 

went  into  one  town,  and  gave  notice  that  lie  would 
preach.  It  got  noised  round  that  the  man  was  rich, 
so  he  had  a  great  audience  the  first  night,  but,  the 
next  night  hardly  any  one  was  there.  Then  he  got 
out  placards,  and  stated  that  if  any  man  in  that 
town  owed  any  debt,  if  they  would  come  round 
to  his  office  between  nine  and  twelve  o'clock  on 
a  certain  day,  he  would  pay  the  debt.  That  went 
through  the  town  hke  wild-fire.  One  said  to  the 
other,  "John,  do  you  believe  that?"  "No,  I  am 
not  going  to  believe  that  any  stranger  is  going  to 
pay  our  debts."  The  day  came,  and  at  nine  o'clock 
the  man  was  there.  At  ten  o'clock  none  had  come. 
At  eleven  o'clock  a  man  was  seen  walking  up  and 
down,  and  finally  he  stuck  his  head  in  the  door  and 
said,  "  Is  it  true  that  you  will  pay  any  man's  debt  ?  '* 
"Yes;  do  you  owe  any  debt?"  "Yes."  "Have  you 
brought  the  necessary  papers?"  "Yes."  So  the 
man  drew  a  check  and  paid  the  other's  debt,  and 
he  kept  him  and  talked  with  him  till  twelve  o'clock; 
and  before  twelve  o'clock  two  other  men  came  and 
got  their  debts  paid.  At  twelve  o'clock  that  man 
let  them  out,  and  the  people  outside  said  to  them, 
"  He  paid  your  debts,  did  not  he  ?  "  "  Yes,  he  did," 
they  answered.  The  people  laughed  and  made  fun 
of  them,  and  would  not  believe  it  till  they  pulled 
out  the  check,  and  said,  "  There  it  is.  He  has  paid 
all  the  debt."  Then  the  people  said,  "  What  fools 
we  were,  we  did  not  go  in  and  get  our  debts  paid!  " 
But  they  could  not;  it  was  too  late;  the  door  was 


94  ADDRESSES 

closed.  Then  the  man  preached  the  Gospel,  and 
great  crowds  went  to  hear  him ;  and  he  said,  "  Now, 
my  friends,  that  is  what  God  wants  to  do,  but  you 
will  not  let  Him  do  it.  Christ  came  to  pay  our 
debts,  and  that  is  the  Gospel." 

61.  God's  Omnipresence. — God  is  here,  the  same 
as  we  say  the  sun  has  been  shining  to-day,  but  it  is 
95,000,000  of  miles  away,  and  so  God  may  be  here, 
but  at  the  same  time  God  is  a  Person.  God  has  a 
dwelling-place,  God  has  a  home,  God  has  a  throne. 

62.  Seeing  Jesus. — One  Christian  asked  another 
what  he  expected  to  do  when  he  got  to  heaven,  and 
he  said  he  expected  to  take  one  good  long  look  of 
about  500  years  at  Christ,  and  then  he  would  want 
to  see  Paul  and  Peter  and  John  and  the  rest  of  the 
disciples.  Well,  it  seems  to  me  one  glimpse  of  Christ 
will  pay  us  for  all  tbat  we  are  called  upon  to  endure 
here — to  see  the  King  in  His  beauty,  to  be  in  the 
presence  of  the  King. 

63.  The  Beauty  of  Heaven. — ^I  read  of  a  little  child 
whose  mother  was  sick,  and  the  child  was  not  old 
enough  to  understand  about  the  sickness  of  the 
mother.  It  was  taken  away,  and  when  the  mother 
died,  they  thought  they  would  rather  have  the  child 
remember  its  mother  as  she  was  when  she  was  well, 
and  so  they  did  not  take  her  back  till  after  the 
mother  was  buried.     They  brought  the  child  home 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  95 

and  she  ran  into  the  drawing-room  to  meet  her 
mother,  and  her  mother  was  not  there.  The  little 
thing  was  disappointed,  and  ran  into  all  the  rooms, 
but  could  not  find  her  mother.  She  began  to  crj^ 
and  asked  them  to  send  her  back;  she  did  not  want 
to  stay;  home  had  lost  its  attraction  because  mother 
was  not  there.  What  is  going  to  make  heaven  so 
delightful?  It  won't  be  the  pearly  gates;  it  won't 
be  the  jasper  walls;  but  it  will  be  that  we  shall  see 
the  King  in  His  beauty,  and  shall  behold  Him,  and 
not  only  Him,  but  those  that  have  gone  before  us. 

64.  Talking  About  Heaven. — I  was  going  to  a 
meeting  some  time  ago,  and  a  friend  said  to  me  on 
my  way,  "What  is  your  subject?"  I  told  him  I 
should  talk  about  heaven.  I  noticed  a  scowl  on  his 
forehead,  and  said,  "  What  makes  you  look  in  that 
way  ?  "  He  said  he  was  in  hopes  I  was  going  to  give 
them  something  practical,  that  there  would  be  time 
enough  to  talk  about  heaven  when  we  got  there. 
But  there  is  a  passage  in  Timothy  which  says  that 
"  all  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is 
profitable  for  doctrine,"  and  if  God  did  not  want  us 
to  talk  about  and  think  about  heaven  He  would  not 
have  so  much  written  about  it.  And  I  think  if  peo- 
ple talked  more  about  heaven  they  would  have  more 
of  a  desire  to  go  there. 

65.  Our  Name  in  Heaven. — Two  years  ago  a  friend 
of  mine  that  was  in  London  was  going  back  to  Amer- 


96  ADDRESSES 

ica.  She  went  to  Liverpool  with  a  party  of  Amer- 
ican friends,  and  they  were  talking  about  what  hotel 
they  would  stop  at,  and  decided  to  go  to  the  North- 
Western.  The  hotel  was  full,  and  as  they  were  start- 
ing to  find  another,  they  said  to  my  friend,  "  Are 
not  you  going  with  us?"  My  friend  said,  "No,  I 
am  going  to  stay  here."  "Oh,  no,"  they  said,  "you 
cannot  stay  here."  But  my  friend  said,  "I  am  go- 
ing to  stay."  "  How  is  it?"  "I  have  got  a  room." 
"  Where  did  you  get  it  ?  "  "  Why,  I  sent  my  name 
on  ahead."  She  had  telegraphed  a  few  days  before 
and  secured  a  room.  And  that  is  just  what  the  chil- 
di'en  of  God  are  doing  now;  they  are  sending  their 
names  on  ahead  and  getting  them  down  in  the  Book 
of  Life.     They  are  not  waiting  for  the  dying  minute. 

66.  Keconciliation. — There  was  an  Englishman 
who  had  an  only  son  who  was  very  headstrong. 
Father  and  son  quarrelled.  The  father  said  he 
wished  the  son  would  leave  home  and  never  come 
back.  The  boy  said  he  would  go  and  not  come  to 
the  father's  house  again  till  he  sent  for  him.  The 
father  said  he  never  would  send  for  him.  Away 
went  the  boy.  But  when  a  father  gives  up  a  boy  a 
mother  does  not.  The  mother  of  the  boy  wrote 
and  plead  with  him  to  write  to  his  father  first  and 
his  father  would  forgive  him;  but  the  boy  said,  "I 
will  never  go  home  till  father  asks  me."  She  plead 
to  the  father  but  the  father  said,  "  No,  I  will  never 
ask  him."    At  last  the  mother,  broken-hearted,  was 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  97 

sick  and  given  up  by  the  physicians  to  die.  Her 
husband,  anxious  to  gratify  her  last  wish,  wanted 
to  know  if  he  could  do  any  thing  for  her.  She  said, 
"Yes,  you  can  send  for  my  boy."  "Well,"  said  the 
father.  "  I  will  send  word  to  him  that  you  want  to 
see  him."  "No,"  she  says,  "If  ever  I  see  him  you 
must  send  for  him."  So  the  father  wrote  and  the 
boy  came  home  to  his  dying  mother.  When  he 
opened  the  door  he  found  his  mother  dying  and  his 
father  by  the  bedside.  The  father  looked  up  and 
saw  his  son  but  refused  to  speak  with  him.  The 
mother  kissed  her  boy  and  said,  "Now,  my  son, 
just  speak  to  your  father."  But  the  boy  said,  "No, 
mother,  I  will  not  speak  to  him  until  he  speaks  to 
me."  She  took  her  husband's  hand  and  her  boy's 
and  spent  her  dying  moments  striving  to  reconcile 
them.  As  she  was  expiring  she  could  not  speak,  so 
she  put  the  hand  of  the  wayward  boy  into  the  hand 
of  the  father  and  passed  away.  The  boy  looked  at 
the  mother,  and  the  father  at  the  wife,  and  at  last 
the  father's  heart  broke,  and  he  took  that  boy  to 
his  bosom,  and  by  that  body  they  were  reconciled. 
Sinner,  that  is  only  a  faint  type,  a  poor  illastration, 
because  God  is  not  angry  with  you.  God  gives  you 
Christ,  and  I  bring  you  to-night  to  the  dead  body 
of  Christ.  I  ask  you  to  look  at  the  wounds  in  His 
hands  and  feet,  and  the  wound  in  His  side.  And  I 
ask  you,  "Will  you  not  be  reconciled?  " 

67.  The  Bible  And  Sceptics.— Supposing  I  should 
7 


98  ADDRESSES 

send  my  little  boy  to  school  to-morrow  morning, 
and  when  he  came  home  I  should  say,  "  Can  you 
read,  write,  spell?  Do  yon  understand  all  about 
arithmetic,  geometry,  algebra?"  The  little  fellow 
would  look  at  me,  and  say,  "  Why,  what  do  you  talk 
in  that  way  for  ?  I  have  been  trying  all  day  to  learn 
the  A  B  C."  Supposing  I  replied,  "If  you  have 
not  finished  your  education  you  need  not  go  to  the 
school  any  more."  Well,  there  is  about  as  much 
sense  in  that  as  in  the  way  that  infidels  talk  about 
the  Bible.  They  take  it  up,  read  a  chapter,  and 
say,  "Oh,  it  is  so  dark  and  mysterious  we  cannot 
understand  it." 

68.  The  Blood  Covers  Sin.- — In  Ireland,  some 
time  ago,  a  teacher  asked  a  little  boy  if  there  was 
any  thing  that  God  could  not  do;  and  the  little  fel- 
low said,  "Yes;  He  cannot  see  my  sins  through  the 
blood  of  Christ."  That  is  just  what  He  cannot  do. 
The  blood  covers  them. 

69.  "Out  oe  Purgatory."  —  I  am  told  that  at 
Kome,  if. you  go  up  a  few  steps  on  your  hands  and 
knees,  that  is  nine  years  out  of  purgatory.  If  you 
take  one  step  now  you  are  out  of  purgatory  for  time 
and  eternity. 

70.  Safety  by  the  Cross. — In  our  western  coun- 
try in  the  autumn,  when  there  has  not  been  for 
months  any  rain,  sometimes  the  prairie  catches  fire, 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  99 

and  the  flames  just  roll  along  twenty  feet  liigli  over 
that  western  desert,  at  tlie  rate  of  thirty  or  forty 
miles  an  hour,  consuming  man  and  beast.  Yv^ien 
the  frontiersmen  see  it  coming,  what  do  they  do  ? 
They  know  they  cannot  run  as  fast  as  the  fire  can 
run.  Not  the  fleetest  horse  can  escape  from  that 
fire.  They  take  a  match  and  light  the  grass  around 
them  and  let  the  flames  sweep,  and  then  they  get 
into  the  burnt  district  and  stand  safe.  They  hear 
the  flames  roar,  they  see  death  coming  towards 
them;  but  they  do  not  fear,  they  do  not  tremble, 
because  the  fire  has  passed  over  the  place  where 
they  are,  and  there  is  no  danger.  There  is  one 
mountain  peak  that  the  wrath  of  God  has  swept 
over;  that  is  Mount  Calvary,  and  that  fire  spent  its 
fury  upon  the  bosom  of  the  Son  of  God.  Take 
your  stand  by  the  cross,  and  you  will  be  safe  for 
time  and  eternity. 

71.  Faith  not  Keason. — I  heard  of  some  com- 
mercial travellers  who  went  to  hear  a  man  preach. 
They  came  back  to  the  hotel,  and  were  sitting  in 
the  smoking-room,  and  they  said  the  minister  did 
not  appeal  to  their  reason,  and  they  would  not  be- 
lieve any  thing  they  could  not  reason  out.  An  old 
man  sitting  there  listening,  said  to  them,  "  You  say 
you  won't  believe  any  thing  you  can't  reason  out  V  " 
"No,  we  won't."  The  old  man  said,  "As  I  was 
coming  on  the  train,  I  noticed  some  sheep  and 
cattle   and  swine  and  geese,  eating  grass.     Now, 


100  ADDRESSES 

can  you  tell  me  by  what  process  that  same  grass 
was  turned  into  feathers,  hsdr,  bristles,  and  wool  ?  " 
"Well,  no,  we  can't  just  tell  you  that."  "Do  you 
believe  it  is  a  fact  ?  "  "  Oh,  yes,  it  is  a  fact."  "  I 
thought  3^ou  said  you  would  not  believe  any  thing 
you  could  not  reason  out  ?  "  "  "Well,  we  can't  help 
believing  that;  we  see  it  with  our  eyes."  "Well," 
said  the  old  man,  "  I  can't  help  but  believe  in  re- 
generation, and  a  man  being  converted,  although 
I  cannot  explain  how  God  converted  him." 

72.  The  Blood  Cleanseth. — There  is  no  condem- 
nation to  him  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  You  may 
just  pile  up  your  sins  till  they  rise  up  like  a  dark 
mountain,  and  then  multiply  them  by  ten  thousand 
for  those  you  cannot  think  of;  and  after  you  have 
tried  to  enumerate  all  the  sins  you  have  ever  com- 
mitted, just  let  me  bring  one  verse  in,  and  then 
that  mountain  will  melt  away :  "  The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  His  Son,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin." 

73.  A  Gift  Eefused. — Suppose  I  was  going  over 
London  Bridge  and  saw  a  poor,  miserable  beggar 
with  no  rags  hardly  to  cover  his  nakedness,  and 
right  behind  him  was  the  Prince  of  Wales  with  a 
bag  of  gold,  and  the  poor  beggar  was  runniDg  away 
from  him,  and  the  Prince  was  hallooing,  "  Oh,  beg- 
gar here  is  a  bag  of  gold!"  Sinner  that  is  your 
condition.  The  Prince  of  Heaven  wants  to  give  you 
eternal  life  and  you  are  running  away  fi^om  Him, 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  101 

74.  Morality  will  not  Save. — Nicodemiis  stood 
very  high;  he  was  one  of  tlie  cLurcli  dignitaries;  lie 
stood  as  high  as  any  man  in  Jerusalem,  except  the 
high-priest  himself.  He  belonged  to  the  seventy 
rulers  of  the  Jews;  he  was  a  doctor  of  divinity,  and 
taught  the  law.  There  is  not  one  word  of  Scrip- 
ture against  him ;  he  was  a  man  that  stood  out  be- 
fore the  whole  nation  as  of  pure  and  spotless  char- 
acter. What  does  Christ  say  to  him?  "Except  a 
man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of 
God." 

75.  Satan  in  Church. — Many  say,  "  Oh,  yes,  I  am 
a  Christian,  I  go  to  church  every  Sabbath."  There 
is  no  one  who  goes  to  church  so  regularly  as  Satan. 
He  is  always  there  before  the  minister  and  the  last 
one  out  of  church.  There  is  not  a  church,  or  a 
chapel,  but  he  is  a  regular  attendant  of  it.  The 
idea  that  he  is  only  in  slums,  and  lanes,  and  public 
houses,  is  a  false  one. 

76.  Death  without  Christ. — A  stage-driver  away 
on  the  Pacific  coast~-as  I  was  told  when  I  was 
there  about  three  years  ago — while  lying  on  his 
dying  bed,  kept  moving  one  of  his  feet  up  and 
down,  saying,  "  I  am  on  the  down  grade,  and  can- 
not reach  the  brake."  As  they  told  me  of  it  I 
thought  how  many  were  on  the  down  grade  and 
could  not  reach  the  brake,  and  were  dying  without 
God  and  without  hope. 


102  ADDRESSES 

77.  Christians  Asleep. — A  father  took  his  little 
child  out  into  the  field  one  Sabbath,  and  lay  down 
uiider  a  beautiful  shady  tree.  The  little  child  ran 
about  gathering  wild  flowers  and  little  blades  of 
grass,  and  coming  to  its  father  and  sayiug,  "Pretty ! 
13retty !  "  At  last  the  father  fell  asleep,  and  while 
he  was  sleeping,  the  little  child  wandered  away. 
When  he  awoke,  his  first  thought  w^as,  "Where  is 
my  child?"  He  looked  all  around,  but  he  could 
not  see  him.  Eunning  to  a  little  hill,  he  looked 
around  and  shouted,  but  all  he  heard  w^as  the  echo 
of  his  ow^n  voice.  Then  going  to  a  precipice  at 
some  distance,  he  looked  down,  and  there  upon  the 
rocks  and  briers,  he  saw^  the  mangled  form  of  his 
loved  child.  He  rushed  to  the  spot,  took  up  the 
lifeless  corpse  and  hugged  it  to  his  bosom,  and  ac- 
cused himself  of  being  the  murderer  of  his  own 
child.  While  he  w^as  sleeping  his  child  had  wan- 
dered over  the  precipice.  I  thought  as  I  heard 
that,  what  a  picture  of  the  Church  of  God !  How 
many  fathers  and  mothers,  how  many  Christian 
men,  are  sleeping  now  while  their  children  wander 
over  the  terrible  precipice,  right  into  the  bottom- 
less pit  of  hell. 

78.  "I'm  Glad  She's  en  Heaven." — I  was  attending 
a  Sabbath-school  convention  in  a  little  town,  where 
a  stranger  took  me  into  his  house.  I  said,  "  Have 
you  no  children  ?  "  He  said  no  ;  he  had  one,  but 
she  was  in  heaven,  and  he  said  he  was  glad  of  it.     I 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  iUO 

said,  "Glad  tliat  your  only  child  is  dead?  "  "Yes," 
he  said.  "How  is  that?  Was  she  deformed,  or 
was  any  thing  wrong  with  her  ?  "  "  No,  she  was  as 
perfect  as  could  be  ; "  and  he  brought  me  a  portrait 
of  a  beautiful  girl,  with  golden  curls  falling  down 
her  neck,  more  like  an  angel  than  a  child.  I  asked 
how  old  she  was.  "Seven."  "What  do  you  mean 
by  saying  you  are  glad  she  is  in  heaven  ?  "  "  Well," 
said  he,  "I  worshipped  that  child,  I  was  making 
money  for  my  child,  and  every  Simday  I  spent 
hours  with  her ;  she  was  the  idol  of  my  heart,  but 
I  did  not  know  it.  One  day  I  found  my  child  sick. 
In  a  few  days  she  died,  and  I  accused  God  of  being 
unjust,  and  refused  to  be  reconciled.  I  would  have, 
torn  God  from  His  throne  if  I  could.  For  three 
days  and  nights  I  neither  ate,  nor  drank,  nor  slept. 
I  was  almost  mad.  On  the  third  day  I  buried  her, 
and  when  I  came  home,  as  I  walked  up  and  down 
the  room,  I  thought  I  heard  the  voice  of  my  little 
one  ;  but  then  I  thought,  '  No,  that  voice  is  hushed 
forever.'  Then  I  thought  I  heard  her  httle  feet 
coming  towards  me,  but  then  I  said,  *No,  I  shall 
never  hear  those  little  feet  again.'  At  last  I  threw 
myself  on  my  bed,  and  began  to  weep.  Nature  gave 
way,  and  I  fell  asleep.  I  had  a  dream.  I  thought 
I  was  crossing  a  waste,  barren  field,  and  I  came  to 
a  river  that  looked  so  cold  ftnd  dark  and  dreary  that 
I  drew  back  from  it ;  but,  looking  across,  I  saw  the 
most  beautiful  land  my  eyes  had  ever  rested  upon. 
Then  I  saw  a  company  on  the  other  side,  and  among 


104  ADDRESSES 

tliem  my  darling  child.  She  came  to  the  bank  oi 
the  river,  and  waving  her  little  angel  hand,  said, 
'  Father,  come  right  this  way ;  it  is  so  beautiful 
here.'  I  then  went  to  the  water's  edge,  and  thought 
I  would  plunge  in,  but  it  was  too  deep  for  me — I 
could  not  swim.  I  thought  I  would  give  any  thing 
to  cross.  I  tried  to  find  a  boat,  but  there  v\^as  no 
ferryman.  I  looked  for  a  bridge,  but  there  was 
none  ;  and  while  I  was  wandering  up  and  down 
the  little  angel  voice  came  across  the  stream,  *  Come 
right  this  way,  father  ;  it  is  beautiful  here ! '  All  at 
once  I  heard  a  voice  as  if  it  came  from  heaven,  say- 
ing, *I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life.  No 
man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  Me.'  The 
voice  awoke  me  from  sleep.  I  thought  it  was  God 
calling  me,  and  that  if  I  would  ever  see  my  child 
again  I  must  come  to  God  through  Jesus  Christ. 
That  night  I  knelt  beside  my  bed  and  gave  myself 
to  God.  Now  I  no  longer  look  upon  my  child  as 
sleeping  in  her  grave,  but  I  see  her  with  the  eye  of 
faith  in  that  beautiful  land,  and  every  night  when  I 
lie  down  I  hear  her  sweet  voice  saying,  '  Come  right 
this  way,  father,'  and  every  morning  I  hear  her 
repeating  the  same  words.  Now  my  wife  is  con- 
verted. I  am  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath-school, 
and  eight  children  have  been  converted,  and  I  am 
trjdng  to  get  as  many  converted  as  I  can  to  go  with 
me  to  that  beautiful  land." 

79.  Christ  First. — Before  I  left  the  farm,  I  was 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  105 

talking  one  day  to  a  man  who  was  working  there, 
and  who  was  weeping.     I  said  to  him,  "What  is 
-the  trouble?"  And  he  told  me  a  very  strange  story. 
"When  he  started  in  life,  he  left  his  native  village, 
and  went  to  another  town  to  find  something  to  do, 
and  was  unsuccessful.     The  first  Sabbath  he  went 
to  a  little  church,  and  the  minister  preached  from 
this  text :  "  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  "  and 
he  thought  the  text  and  the  sermon  were  for  him- 
self.    He   wanted  to  get  rich,  and   when  he  was 
settled  in  life  he  w^ould  seek  the  kingdom  of  God. 
He  went  on,  and  the  next  Sabbath  he  was  in  an- 
other village.     It  was  not  long  before  he  heard"  an- 
other minister  preach  from  the  same  text,  "  Seek  ye 
first  the  kingdom  of  God."    He  thought  surely  some 
one  must  have  been  speaking  to  the  minister  about 
him.     For  the  minister  just  pictured  him  out.     But 
he  said  when  he  got  settled  in  life,  and  had  control 
of  his  time,  and  was  his  own  master,  he  would  then 
seek  the  kingdom  of  God.     Some  time  after  he  was 
at  another  village,  and  he  went  to  church  again,  and 
he  had  not  been  going  a  great  while  when  he  heard 
the  third  minister  preach  from  the  same  text :  "  Seek 
ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness, 
and  all  things  else  shall  be  added."     He  said  it  went 
right  down  into  his  soul  ;  but  he  calmly  and  dehb- 
erately  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  not  be- 
come a  Christian  until  he  had  got  settled  in  life, 
and  owned  his  farm.     This  man  said,  "  Now  I  am 
what  the  world  calls  rich.     I  go  to  church  every 


106  ADDRESSES 

Sunday,  but  I  have  never  heard  a  sermon  from  that 
day  to  this  which  has  ever  made  any  impression 
upon  my  heart.  My  heart  is  as  hard  as  a  stone." 
As  he  said  that  tears  trickled  down  his  cheek.  I 
was  a  young  man  and  did  not  know  what  it  meanfc. 
AVhen  I  was  converted  I  thought  when  I  should 
go  back  home  I  would  see  this  man,  and  preach 
Christ  to  him.  When  I  wont  back  home  I  said  to 
my  widowed  mother,  naming  this  man,  "  Is  he  still 
living  in  the  same  place?"  My  mother  said,  "He 
is  gone  mad  and  has  been  taken  away  to  the  insane 
asylum,  and  every  one  that  goes  to  see  him  he  points 
his  finger  at  and  says,  '  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom 
of  God.' "  I  thought  I  should  like  to  see  him  but 
he  was  so  far  gone  it  would  do  no  good.  The  next 
time  I  went  home  he  was  at  his  home  idiotic.  I 
went  to  see  him.  When  I  went  in  I  said,  "Do  you 
kDOw  me?  "  He  pointed  his  finger  at  me  and  said, 
"Young  man,  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God." 
God  had  driven  the  text  into  his  mind  but  his  rea- 
son was  gone.  Three  years  ago,  when  I  visited  my 
father's  grave  I  noticed  a  new  stone  had  been  put 
up.  1  stopped  and  found  it  was  my  friend's.  The 
autumn  wind  seemed  whispering  the  text,  "  Seek  ye 
first  the  kingdom  of  God." 

80.  The  Fatal  Ism. — When  every  child  that  be- 
longs to  the  Lord  is  willing  to  speak  for  Him,  is 
wiUiog  to  work  for  Him,  and,  if  need  be,  willing  to 
die  for  Him,  then  Christianity  will  advance,  and  we 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  107 

sliall  see  the  work  of  tlie  Lord  prosper.  I  fear  more 
than  any  thing  else,  the  dead,  cold  formalism  of  the 
Church  of  God. 

Talk  about  the  false  isms  !  There  is  none  so  dan- 
gerous as  this  dead,  cold  formalism  which  has  come 
right  into  the  heart  of  the  Church.  So  many  of  us 
just  sleep  while  souls  all  around  are  perishing. 

81.  The  Mountains  of  Unbelief. — A  few  years  ago 
there  was  a  little  story  going  through  the  American 
religious  press  that  touched  my  heart  as  a  father. 
It  was  about  the  death  of  a  little  boy.  The  mother 
thought  her  little  boy  w^as  safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus; 
but  one  day  she  came  into  his  room,  and  he  said, 
as  he  was  looking  out  of  the  window,  "Mother, 
what  are  those  mountains  that  I  see  yonder?  "  The 
mother  said,  "Eddie,  there  is  no  mountain  in  sight 
of  the  house."  "Don't  you  see  them,  mother?" 
said  he;  "they're  so  high  and  so  dark.  Eddie  has 
got  to  cross  those  mountains.  Won't  you  take  him 
in  your  arms  and  carry  him  over?"  The  mother 
said,  "Eddie,  I  would  if  I  could,  but  I  cannot." 
Now,  there  is  a  time  coming  when  your  friends  can- 
not help  you.  When  you  come  to  the  mountain,  if 
you  have  not  Christ,  you  must  take  that  journey 
alone,  for  there  will  be  no  one  to  help  you  then. 
The  mother  prayed  with  that  httle  boy.  Then  she 
said,  "Eddie,  jou  must  take  your  eyes  off  your 
mother.  You  must  have  your  eyes  upon  Jesus. 
He  will  help  you."     The  mother  again  prayed  with 


108  ADDRESSES 

him,  and  tried  to  get  his  little  mind  off  from  the 
dark  mountain.  All  at  once  he  said,  "  Mother,  hark ! 
don't  you  hear  them  call?"  "Hear  who,  Eddie?" 
"  Don't  you  see  the  angels  just  on  the  other  side  of 
the  mountain  ?  They  are  calling  for  me.  Take  me, 
mother,  and  carry  me  over  the  mountain."  The 
mother  said  again,  "Why,  my  boy,  I  cannot  go  with 
you;  but  Christ  will  be  with  you.  He  will  take  you 
safe  over  the  mountains  if  you  trust  Him."  Again 
the  mother  prayed  for  her  Httle  boy.  At  length  he 
closed  his  eyes  and  he  prayed,  "  Lord  Jesus,  be  with 
me,  and  take  me  over  the  mountains."  Then  he 
opened  his  little  eyes,  and  said,  "Good-by,  mam- 
ma ;  Jesus  is  coming  to  carry  me  over  the  moun- 
tains ; "  and  the  little  sufferer  was  gone.  Sinner, 
Christ  will  carry  you  over  the  mountains  of  unbelief, 
if  you  will  only  let  Plim. 

82.  TflANKSomNG. — One  reason  why  we  don't  have 
more  answers  to  our  prayers  is  because  we  are  not 
thankful  enough.  The  Divine  injunction  is,  "Be 
careful  for  nothing;  but  in  every  thing  by  prayer 
and  sujDplication,  with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests 
be  made  known  unto  God."  Some  one  has  well 
eaid  there  are  three  things  in  this  verse :  careful  for 
nothing — prayerful  for  every  thing — thankful  for 
any  thing. 

83.  Judas'  Kiss. — Judas  got  near  enough  to  Christ 
to  kiss  Him,  and  yet  went  down  to  damnation. 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  109 

84.  Three  Steps  to  Hell. — There  are  three  steps 
to  the  lost  world.  The  first  is  Neglect.  All  a  roan 
has  to  do  is  to  neglect  salvation  and  that  will  take 
him  to  the  lost  world.  I  am  on  a  swift  river,  and 
lying  in  the  bottom  of  my  little  boat ;  all  I  have  to 
do  is  to  fold  my  arms  and  the  current  will  carry  me 
out  to  sea.  All  a  man  has  to  do  in  the  current  of 
life  is  to  fold  his  arms  and  he  will  drift  on  and  be 
lost.  The  second  step  is  Refusal.  The  last  ste^)  is 
to  Despise  the  love  of  Christ. 

85.  Pray!  Don't  Argue! — Spend  no  time  in  ar- 
guments. I  believe  that  is  a  work  of  the  devil  to 
cause  delay.  If  a  man  comes  to  argue  we  should 
go  on  our  knees,  pray  with  him,  and  then  let  him 
go.  Job  never  fell  until  he  got  into  an  argument 
with  his  friends;  he  could  stand  his  boils,  and  all 
his  other  afEictions,  better  than  an  argument. 

86.  Guard  Against  SELr-coNFiDENCE. — Many  of  the 
Bible  characters  fell  just  in  the  things  in  which  they 
were  thought  to  be  strongest.  Moses  failed  in  his 
humility,  Abraham  in  his  faith,  Elijah  in  his  cour- 
age— for  one  woman  scared  him  away  to  that  juni- 
per tree;  and  Peter,  whose  strong  point  was  bold- 
ness, was  so  frightened  by  a  maid  as  to  deny  his 
Lord. 

87.  Continuous  Effort. — There  are  some  who  say, 
"We  don't  have  any  sympathy  with  these  special 


110  ADDRESSES 

efforts";  and  I  sympatliize  wrfcli  that  objection.  I 
believe  it  is  the  privilege  of  the  child  of  God  to 
make  continuous  efforts  for  the  salvation  of  others, 
every  day  throughout  the  year. 

88.  "  Let  Your  LianT  Shine." — A  friend  of  mine 
was  walking  along  the  streets  one  dark  night,  when 
he  saw  a  man  coming  along  with  a  lantern.  As  he 
came  up  close  to  him,  he  noticed  by  the  bright  light 
that  the  man  had  no  eyes.  He  went  past  him ;  but 
the  thought  struck  him,  "  Surely  that  man  is  blind !  " 
He  turned  round  and  said,  "  My  friend,  are  you  not 
blind  ?  "  "  Yes,"  was  the  answer.  "  Then  what  have 
you  got  the  lantern  for ? "  "I  carry  the  lantern," 
said  the  blind  man,  "  that  people  may  not  stumble 
over  me."  Let  us  hold  up  our  light,  burning  with 
the  clear  radiance  of  heaven,  that  men  may  not 
stumble  over  us. 

89.  Under  the  Juniper  Tree. — There  is  a  large 
class  of  people  who  are  always  looking  upon  the 
dark  side.  Some  time  ago  I  myself  got  under  the 
juniper  tree.  Li  those  days  I  used  to  fish  all  night, 
and  catch  nothing.  One  of  the  workers  in  our  Mis- 
sion came  in  to  see  me  one  Monday  morning,  full  of 
joy,  saying  what  a  good  Sunday  he  had.  "  Well," 
said  I,  "  I  am  glad  you  have  had  a  good  day  ;  but 
I  have  had  a  very  bad  one."  He  know  I  had  been 
in  trouble  of  mind  and  so  he  said,  "Did  you  ever 
study  >Toah?"     "No  "  said  I;  "I  have  read  about 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS. 


Ill 


him,  but  I  don't  know  that  I  have  ever  studied  him." 
"  WelL"  said  he,  " study  him.  It  will  do  jou  good." 
So  I  began  to  study  Noah,  and  I  found  out  that  he 
preached  for  a  hundi^ed  and  twenty  years  without^ 
makmg  a  single  convert.  "  That  is  a  good  deal  wwse 
than  my  case,"  thought  I;  and  that  made  me  feel 
better  at  once.  That  day  I  went  down  to  the  noon 
prayer-meeting,  and  one  poor  sinner  rose  and  asked 
us  to  pray  for  him.  ""What  would  old  Noah  have 
given  for  that?"  thought  I.  I  tell  you,  what  we 
want  is  perseverance. 

90.  Send  Any  Body  but  Me.— There  are  but  few 
now  that  say,  "Here  am  I,  Lord;  send  me":  the 
cry  now  is,  "  Send  some  one  else.  Send  the  minis- 
ter, send  the  church  o£6.cers,  the  church-wardens, 
the  elders;  but  not  me.  I  have  not  got  the  ability, 
the  gifts,  or  the  talents."  Ah!  honestly  say  you 
have  not  got  the  heart;  for  if  the  heart  is  loyal, 
God  can  use  you.  It  is  really  all  a  matter  of  heart. 
It  does  not  take  God  a  great  while  to  qualify  a  man 
for  his  work,  if  he  only  has  the  heart  for  it. 

91.  Distance  Disenchanting.— When  men  going 
up  in  a  balloon  have  ascended  a  little  height,  things 
down  here  begin  to  look  very  small  indeed.  What 
had  seemed  very  grand  and  imposing,  now  seem  as 
mere  nothings;  and  the  higher  they  rise  the  smaller 
every  thing  on  earth  appears— it  gets  fainter  and 
fainter  as  they  rise,  till   the   railway  train,  dash- 


112  ADDRESSES 

ing  along  at  fifty  miles  an  hour,  seems  like  a  thread, 
and  scarcely  appears  to  be  moving  at  all,  and  the 
gTand  jDiles  of  buildings  seem  now  like  mere  dots. 
So  it  is  when  we  get  near  heaven:  earth's  treasures, 
earth's  cares,  look  very  small. 

92.  To-MOEKOW. — Look  at  poor  old  Pharaoh  down 
there  in  Egypt,  when  the  plague  of  frogs  was  on  him. 
"What  an  awful  time  he  must  have  had !  Frogs  in 
the  fields,  and  frogs  in  the  houses;  frogs  in  the  bed- 
rooms, and  frogs  in  the  kneading-troughs.  When 
the  king  went  to  bed,  a  frog  would  jump  on  to  his 
face;  when  he  cut  into  a  loaf  of  bread,  there  was  a 
frog  in  the  middle  of  it.  Nothing  but  frogs  every- 
where !  Frogs,  frogs,  frogs !  He  stood  it  as  long 
as  he  could;  and  then  he  sent  for  Moses,  and  begged 
him  to  take  them  away.  "  When  would  you  like  to 
have  me  do  it  ?  "  says  Moses.  Now  just  listen  to 
what  he  says.  You  would  think  he  would  say.  Now ! 
this  minute !  I  have  had  them  long  enough !  But 
he  says,  "  To-morrow."  Kept  the  frogs  another  day, 
when  he  might  have  got  rid  of  them  at  once !  That 
is  just  like  you,  sinner.  You  say  you  want  to  be 
saved;  but  you  are  willing  to  keep  your  hateful, 
hideous  sins  till  to-morrow,  instead  of  being  rid  of 
them  now. 

93.  A  Book  of  Wondees. — A  man  once  wanted  to 
sell  me  a  "Book  of  Wonders."  I  took  it  and  looked 
it  over,  and  could  not  find  any  thing  in  it  about  Cal- 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  113 

vary.     T\Tiat  a  mistake !     A  book  of  wonders — and 
the  greatest  wonder  of  all  left  out ! 

94.  Eepentance. — What  is  repentance  ?  Someone 
says  it  is  a  "godly  sorrow  for  sin."  But  I  tell  you 
a  man  can't  have  a  godly  sorrow,  or  a  godly  any 
thing  else,  till  after  he  repents.  Eepentance  means 
right- about- face !     Some   one  says,   "Man  is  born 

-with  his  back  towards  God,  and  repentance  is  turn- 
ing square  round." 

95.  A  Lie  Six  Thousand  Years  Old. — One  of  the 
greatest  lies  that  has  come  out  of  the  pit  of  hell  is 
that  Christ  is  a  hard  Master.  It  is  a  lie,  and  has 
been  so  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  Oh, 
young  man,  I  beg  of  you,  do  not  believe  the  devil 
when  he  says  that  God  is  a  hard  Master.  It  is 
false,  my  fiiends;  and  to-night  let  me  brand  that 
excuse  as  one  of  the  devil's  own  lies,  that  he  has 
been  retailing  up  and  down  the  earth  for  six  thou- 
sand years. 

96.  Tied  to  the  World. — I  once  heard  of  two 
men,  who,  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  came  down 
one  night  to  where  their  boat  was  tied;  they  wanted 
to  return  home,  so  they  got  in  and  began  to  row. 
They  pulled  away  hard  all  night,  wondering  why 
they  never  got  to  the  other  side  of  the  bay.  When 
the  gray  dawn  of  morning  broke,  behold,  they  had 
never  loosed  the  mooring  line  or  raised  the  anchor ! 

8 


114  ADDRESSES 

And  that's  just  the  way  with  many  who  are  striving 
to  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  They  cannot  be- 
lieve, because  they  are  tied  to  this  worki 

97.  Laziness  not  Leanness. — A  good  many  peo- 
ple are  complaining  all  the  time  about  themselves, 
and  crjdng  out  —  "  My  leanness !  my  leanness  !  " 
when  they  ought  rather  to  say.  "  My  laziness !  my 
laziness ! " 

98.  "  Come  to  Christ  Chain  aiw  All." — In  the 
North  there  was  a  minister  talking  to  a  man  in  the 
inquiry  room.  He  said,  "My  heart  is  so  hard,  it 
seems  as  if  it  was  chained  ;  and  I  cannot  come." 
"Ah!"  said  the  minister,  "come  to  Ciirist,  chain 
and  all";  and  he  just  came  to  Christ,  and  Christ 
snapped  the  fetters,  and  set  him  free  right  there. 

99.  The  Teetotaler. — There  was  a  soldier  down 
in  Tennessee  when  I  was  there — a  great,  strong, 
hearty  feUow,  who  was  a  teetotaler.  One  day,  when 
the  army  was  going  on  a  long  march,  a  man  offered 
him  a  drink  of  whiskey. 

"  I  am  a  teetotaler,"  was  his  reply. 

"Never  mind  that.  You're  in  the  army  now;  be- 
sides, you  need  some  stimulant  to  help  you  on  this 
long  march." 

Taking  out  a  pocket  Bible,  he  held  it  up  before 
the  face  of  his  tempter,  and  said — 

"  That  is  all  the  stimulant  I  want." 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  115 

100.  Cbownless  Saints. — I  have  an  idea  there  aro 
tlionsancls  of  crownless  saints  in  heaven.     They  jnsfc 

'  barely  get  in  at  the  doors.  They  have,  indeed,  been 
redeemed  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb;  bnt  there  is  no 
reward  for  them.  They  have  sought  their  own  ease 
in  this  world ;  they  have  not  sought  to  work  for 
Christ  here  below;  therefore,  though  admitted  to 
heaven,  they  enjoy  no  distinguished  reward.  "They 
that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  fir- 
mament; and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness 
as  the  stars  forever  and  ever."  But  none  of  those 
that  have  lost  heart,  and  have  given  up  working  for 
the  Master  here,  will  shine  as  the  stars,  or  receive 
the  great  reward  hereafter.  For  those  careless  ones 
there  is  no  bright  glory,  no  place  near  the  throne; 
they  have  just  got  in  at  the  gates — that's  all ! 

101.  Christ  The  Aee. — When  I  w^as  in  Manches- 
ter, I  went  into  the  gallery  one  Sunday  night,  to 
have  a  talk  with  a  few  inquirers;  and  while  I  w^as 
talking,  a  business  man  came  in,  and  took  his  seat 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  audience.  I  think,  at  first, 
he  had  come  merely  to  criticise,  and  that  he  was  a 
little  sceptical.'  At  last  I  saw  he  was  in  tears.  I 
turned  to  him,  and  said,  "My  friend,  what  is  your 
difficulty  ?  "  "  Well,"  he  said,  "  Mr.  Moody,  the  fact 
is,  I  cannot  tell."  I  said,  "Do  you  believe  you  are 
a  sinner?"  He  said,  "Yes;  I  know  that."  I  said, 
"Christ  is  able  to  save  you";  and  I  used  one  illus- 
tration after  another,  but  he  did  not  see  it.     At  last 


116  ADDRESSES 

I  thought  of  the  ark,  and  I  said:  "Was  it  Noah's 
feelings  that  saved  him  ?  Was  it  Noah's  righteous- 
ness that  saved  him,  or  was  it  the  ark ?  "  "I  see  it, 
now,"  said  he;  "I  see  it."  He  got  up  and  shook 
hands  with  me,  and  said:  "  Good-night:  I  must  go. 
I  was  determined  to  be  saved  before  I  went.  I  see 
it  now." 

A  few  days  after,  he  came  and  touched  me  on  the 
shoulder,  and  said,  "  Do  you  know  me  ?  "  I  said, 
*'I  know  your  face,  but  do  not  remember  where  I 
have  seen  you."  He  said,  "Do  you  not  remember 
the  illustration  of  the  ark?"  I  said,  "Yes."  "It 
has  been  all  light  ever  since,"  said  he.  "I  under- 
stand it  now.     Christ  is  the  Ark;  He  saves  me." 

102.  Conversion  Instantaneous. — I  can  imagine 
some  of  you  saying;  "  I  do  not  see  how  a  man  is 
really  going  to  be  converted  all  at  once."  Let  me 
give  you  an  illustration.  There  are  two  soldiers. 
Now,  if  you  bring  those  soldiers  up  to  this  platform, 
and  ask  them  how  they  became  soldiers,  they  will 
tell  you  this — that  one  moment  they  were  citizens, 
and  the  next  minute  soldiers.  What  was  it  that 
made  them  soldiers?  It  was  when  they  took  the 
Queen's  shilling.  The  moment  they  received  that 
shilling  they  ceased  to  be  citizens,  and  they  became 
soldiers.  Before  they  received  that  shilling  they 
could  go  where  they  pleased;  the  next  minute  they 
came  under  the  government  and  under  the  regula- 
tions of  the  army,  and  they  must  go  where  Queen 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  117 

Victoria  sends  them.  They  did  not  have  to  wait 
for  the  uniforni.  The  minute  they  received  the  shil- 
ling they  became  soldiers.  What  made  them  sol- 
diers? Eeceiving  the  shilling.  "WTiat  makes  a  man 
a  Christian?  Receiving  Christ.  "He  came  unto 
His  own,  and  His  own  received  Him  not:  but  as 
many  as  received  Him,  to  them  gave  He  power  to 
become  the  sons  of  God." 

103.  Cheist  Our  Substitute. — There  is  a  story 
told  of  Napoleon,  that,  when  he  sent  out  a  draft  for 
recruits,  a  man  was  drafted  who  didn't  want  to  go 
into  the  army  ;  but  he  had  a  friend  who  thought  a 
good  deal  of  him,  and  this  friend  offered  to  go  in 
his  place.  He  was  taken.  A  battle  was  fought,  and 
the  man  was  killed  and  buried  on  the  field.  Some 
time  afterwards  another  draft  was  made,  and  by  a 
mistake  this  man,  whose  substitute  the  other  had 
been,  was  drafted  the  second  time.  When  they 
went  to  take  him,  he  said  : 

"You  cannot  take  me." 

"  Why  not  ?  " 

"lam  dead." 

"You  are  not." 

"  Yes,  I  am.  I  died  at  such  a  battle,  and  you  will 
find  me  buried  on  such  a  battle-field." 

The  man  declared  that  he  was  dead,  and  they 
declared  that  he  was  alive. 

"See  if  I  was  not  drafted  at  such  and  such  a 
time."    They  looked,  and  found  that  he  had  been 


118  ADDRESSES 

drafted;  and  found  another  name  against  liis:  and 
then  they  said  that  he  had  got  a  substitute. 

"I  know  that,"  said  he;  "and  he  died  for  me,  and 
you  cannot  take  me." 

They  said  they  would  take  him,  and  they  did. 
Upon  this  he  appealed  to  the  emperor,  who  decided 
they  could  not  take  him,  for  another  man  had  died 
in  his  place. 

There  were  hundreds  of  such  cases  during  our 
war,  where  men  bought  substitutes;  and  others 
served  through  love — the  father  for  the  son,  and 
the  son  for  the  father,  and  brothers  for  brothers. 
One  wealthy  man  hired  another  to  go  to  the  war  for 
him,  and  he  was  killed.  The  wealthy  man  went 
down  South,  and  built  a  monument  over  his  substi- 
tute's grave;  and  on  it  he  put  this  inscription:  "He 
DIED  FOE  ME."  All !  my  friends,  go  to  the  tomb  of 
Jesus,  and  say  over  it,  "  He  died  for  me."  Yea,  you 
can  go  further,  and  say,  "  He  rose  for  me,  and  He 
is  at  the  right  hand  of  God  for  me;  and  I  have  hfe 
in  Him,  and  the  hope  of  eternal  glory.  Death  can- 
not touch  my  spiritual  nature;  I  am  safe  for  time 
and  eternity." 

104.  The  Last  Night. — A  little  while  ago,  in  one 
of  the  mining  districts  of  England  a  young  man  at- 
tended one  of  our  meetings,  and  refused  to  go  from 
the  place  till  he  had  found  the  Saviour.  The  next 
day  he  went  down  into  the  pit  and  the  coal  fell  in 
upon  him  ;  and  when  they  took  him  out  he  was 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  119 

bruised  and  mangled  and  had  but  a  few  moments 
to  live.  His  last  words  were.  "It  was  a  good 
thing  I  settled  it  last  night." 

105.  An  Egyptian  Legend. — There  is  a  legend  told 
in  reference  to  that  night  on  which  the  Lord  slew 
the  first-born  of  the  Egyptians ;  and  it  runs  thus  : 
There  was  a  little  child,  the  first-born  in  the  house 
of  an  Israelite  ;  and  you  know  God  said  that,  in 
every  house  where  the  blood  was  not  upon  the 
door-post,  the  first-born  should  be  smitten  by  death. 
This  little  girl  was  sick,  but  she  was  afi-aid  that  the 
blood  was  not  ujDon  the  door-post;  so  she  asked  her 
father  if  he  was  sure  he  had  put  the  blood  upon  the 
door-post;  and  the  father  said,  "Yes,  he  was  quite 
sure:  he  had  ordered  it  to  be  done."  But  the  little 
girl  said  the  second  time,  "Father,  are  you  quite 
sure  that  the  blood  is  there  ?  "  "  Yes,  1113^  child," 
answ^ered  the  father;  "be  quiet,  and  sleep."  But 
the  child  could  not  sleep.  She  was  very  sick  and 
very  restless;  and  as  night  came  on,  and  it  grew 
darker  and  darker,  and  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
time  when  the  angel  should  pass  over  Goshen,  she 
got  still  more  nervous  and  restless  and  uneasy;  and 
at  last  she  said,  "Father,  take  me  in  your  arms  and 
let  me  see  the  blood  upon  the  door-post";  and  the 
father,  to  satisfy  the  child,  took  her  to  the  door  to 
show  her  the  blood;  and  lo  and  behold!  it  was  not 
there :  the  man  to  whom  he  had  given  instructions 
had  forgotten  to  do  it.     xVnd  then  the  father,  in  the 


120  ADDRESSES 

sight  of  tlie  cliild,  had  the  blood  put  upon  the  door- 
post, and  the  child  lay  down  and  went  to  sleep. 

^  106.  The  Deep  Pit. — Did  any  of  you  ever  go  down 
into  a  coal-pit,  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  feet, 
right  down  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  ?  If  you 
have,  don't  you  know  that  it  would  be  sheer  mad- 
ness to  try  to  climb  up  the  steep  sides  of  that  shaft 
and  so  get  out  of  the  pit  ?  Of  course,  you  couldn't 
leap  out  of  it ;  in  fact,  you  couldn't  get  out  of  it  at 
all  by  yourself.  But  I'll  tell  you  this — you  could  get 
out  of  a  coal-pit  fifteen  hundred  feet  deep  a  good  deal 
quicker  than  you  can  get  out  of  the  pit  that  Adam 
took  you  into.  When  Adam  went  down  into  it,  he 
took  the  whole  human  family  with  him.  But  the 
Lord  can  take  us  out. 

107.  A  Vast  Foetune. — A  vast  fortune  was  left 
in  the  hands  of  a  minister  for  one  of  his  poor  parish- 
ioners. Fearing  that  it  might  be  squandered  if  sud- 
denly bestowed  upon  him,  the  wise  minister  sent 
him  a  little  at  a  time,  with  a  note,  saying:  "This  is 
thine ;  use  it  wisely ;  there  is  more  to  follow !  "  Breth- 
ren, that's  just  the  way  God  deals  with  us. 

108.  "Immediately."  —  Not  long  ago,  in  Edin- 
burgh, an  earnest  Christian  lady  found  a  woman 
whose  feet  had  taken  hold  of  hell,  and  who  was 
pressing  onwards  to  a  harlot's  grave.  The  lady 
begged  her  to  go  home,  but  she  said,  "no,  her  par- 


A.ND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  121 

ents  would  not  receive  lier."  This  Cliristian  woman 
knew  what  a  mother's  heart  was.  So  she  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  mother,  teUing  her  how  she  had  met 
her  daughter,  who  was  sorry  and  wanted  to  return. 
The  next  post  brought  an  answer  back,  and  on  the  en- 
velope was  written,  "  Immediately — immediately !  ". 
They  opened  the  letter:  yes,  she  was  forgiven.  They 
wanted  her  back,  and  they  sent  money  for  her  to 
come  immediately.  That  is  what  the  great  and 
loving  God  is  saying  to  every  wandering  sinner — 
immediately. 

109.  Backsliders. — The  devil  has  told  you  that 
God  won't  have  any  thing  to  do  with  you,  because 
you  have  wandered  away.  If  that  is  true,  there 
would  be  very  few  men  in  heaven.  David  backslid; 
Abraham  and  Jacob  turned  away  from  God ;  I  do 
not  believe  there  is  a  saint  in  heaven  but  at  some 
time  of  his  life,  with  his  heart  has  backslidden  from 
God.  Perhaps  not  in  his  life,  but  in  his  heart.  The 
prodigal's  heart  got  into  the  far  country  before  his 
body  got  there. 

110.  O  O.— When  I  was  in  England  in  1867,  there 
was  a  merchant  who  came  over  from  Dublin,  and 
was  talking  with  a  business  man  in  London ;  and  as 
I  happened  to  look  in,  he  introduced  me  to  the  man 
from  Dublin.  Alluding  to  me,  the  latter  said  to  the 
former,  "Is  this  young  man  all  0  0?"  Said  the 
London  man,  "What  do  you  mean  by  O  O?"    Ke- 


122  ADDRESSES 

plied  tlie  Dublin  man,  ''Is  he  Out  and  Out  for 
Ghrid?"  I  tell  you  it  burned  down  into  my  soul 
It  means  a  good  deal  to  be  O  O  for  Christ. 

111.  A  Lost  Life. — A  young  man  lay  dying,  and 
his  mother  thought  he  was  a  Christian.  One  day, 
passing  his  room  door,  she  heard  him  say,  "  Lost ! 
lost !  lost !  "  The  mother  ran  into  the  room  and 
cried,  "My  boy,  is  it  possible  you  have  lost  your 
hope  in  Christ,  now  you  are  dying?  "  ''No,  mother, 
it  is  not  that;  I  have  a  hope  beyond  the  grave,  but 
I  have  lost  my  life.  I  have  lived  twenty-four  years, 
and  done  nothing  for  the  Son  of  God,  and  now  I  am 
dying.  My  life  has  been  spent  for  myself ;  I  have 
lived  for  this  world,  and  now,  while  I  am  dying,  I 
have  given  myself  to  Christ;  but  my  life  is  lost." 

112.  Professing  Christians. — There  are  a  great 
many  in  the  Church  who  make  one  profession,  and 
that  is  about  all  you  hear  of  them  ;  and  when  they 
come  to  die  you  have  to  go  and  hunt  up  some  musty 
old  church  records,  to  know  w^hether  they  were 
Christians  or  not.     God  won't  do  that. 

113.  What  The  Prodigal  Lost! — Bid  you  ever 
notice  what  the  prodigal  lost  ?  He  lost  his  foQci. 
That  is  what  every  poor  backslider  loses.  They 
get  no  manna  from  heaven.  They  see  no  beauty  in 
the  Word  of  God. 

Then  the  prodigal  lost  his  worh.  They  made  him 
take  care  of  swine;  that  was  all  loss  for  a  Jew.     So 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  123. 

every  baclvslider  loses  liis  work.  He  cannot  do  anj 
thing  for  God;  he  cannot  work  for  eternity. 

The  prodigal  also  lost  his  testimony.  Who  be- 
lieved him?  There  he  stands  among  the  swine, 
and  some  one  says  to  another,  "  Look  at  that  poor 
wretch."  "What,"  he  says,  "do  yon  call  me  a  poor 
wretch?  My  father  is  a  vv^ealthy  man;  he  has  got 
more  clothes  in  his  wardrobe  than  you  ever  saw 
in  your  life.  My  father  is  a  man  of  great  wealth 
and  position."  Do  3'ou  suppose  these  men  would  be- 
lieve him  ?  "  That  poor  wretch  the  son  of  a  wealth^'- 
man!"  "If  he  had  got  such  a  wealthy  father  he 
would  go  to  him."  So  with  the  backsliders:  the 
world  does  not  believe  that  they  are  the  sons  of  a 
King. 

Then,  the  prodigal  lost  his  home.  As  long  as  his 
money  lasted,  he  was  quite  popular  in  the  public- 
house  and  among  his  acquaintances;  he  had  pro- 
fessed friends,  but  as  soon  as  his  money  was  gone, 
where  were  his  friends?  That  is  the  condition  of 
every  poor  backslider. 

114.  An  Only  Daughter  Lost. — Not  long  ago  the 
^nly  daughter  of  a  wealthy  friend  of  mine  sickened 
and  died.  The  father  and  mother  stood  by  her  dy- 
ing bed.  He  had  spent  all  his  time  in  accumulat- 
ing wealth  for  her;  she  had  been  introduced  into 
gay  and  fashionable  society;  but  she  had  been 
taught  nothing  of  Christ.  As  she  came  to  the 
brink  of  the  river  of  death,  she  said,  "Won't  you 


124  ADDRESSES 

help  me;  it  is  very  dark,  and  tlie  stream  is  bitter 
cold."  They  wrung  their  hands  in  grief,  but  could 
do  nothing  for  her;  and  the  poor  girl  died  in  dark- 
ness and  despair.  What  was  their  wealth  to  them 
then? 

115.  Afraid  of  Backsliding  Again. — Some  say, 
"There  would  be  little  use  of  me  attempting  to 
come  back.  In  a  few  days  I  should  just  be  where 
I  was  again.  I  should  hke  very  much  to  go  to  my 
Father's  home  again,  but  I'm  afraid  I  wouldn't 
stay  there."  "Well,  just  picture  this  scene.  The 
poor  prodigal  has  got  home,  and  the  father  has 
killed  the  fatted  calf;  and  they  are  sitting  at  the 
table  eating.  His  father  sits  opposite;  he  is  full 
of  joy,  and  his  heart  is  leaping  within  him.  All  at 
once  he  sees  his  boy  weeping.  "  My  son,  what  are 
you  weeping  for?  Are  you  not  glad  to  have  got 
home?"  "Oh,  yes,  father;  I  never  was  so  glad  as 
I  am  to-day:  but  I  am  so  afraid  I  will  go  back  into 
that  foreign  country ! "  "Why,  you  cannot  imagine 
such  a  thing!  When  you  have  got  one  meal  in 
your  Father's  house,  you  will  never  be  inclined  to 
wander  away  again. 

116.  Every  Man's  Biography! — Some  men  like  to 
have  their  lives  written  before  they  die;  if  any  of 
you  would  like  to  read  your  biography  turn  to  the 
third  chapter  of  Komans  and  you  will  find  it  al- 
ready written. 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  125 

117.  The  One-point  Offendeb. — If  I  have  an  or- 
chard, and  two  apple-trees  in  it,  which  both  bear 
some  bitter  apples,  perfectly  worthless,  does  it  make 
any  difference  to  me  that  the  one  tree  has  got  per- 
haps five  hundred  apples,  all  bad,  and  the  other  only 
two,  both  bad  ?  "  Whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  laio, 
and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all.''  Sup- 
pose you  were  to  hang  up  a  man  to  the  roof  with  a 
chain  of  ten  links;  if  one  were  to  break,  does  it  mat- 
ter that  the  other  nine  are  all  sound  and  whole? 
Not  the  least.  One  link  breaks,  and  down  comes 
the  man.  But  is  it  not  rather  hard  that  he  should 
fall  when  the  other  nine  are  perfect,  when  only  one 
is  broken  ?  Why,  of  course  not ;  if  one  is  broken,  it 
is  just  the  same  to  the  man  as  if  all  had  been  bro- 
ken :  he  falls.  So  the  man  who  breaks  one  com- 
mandment is  guilty  of  all.  He  is  a  criminal  in 
God's  sight. 

118.  The  Law  Our  Looking-glass. — I  said  to  my 
family,  one  morning,  a  few  weeks  before  the  Chicago 
fire,  "  I  am  coming  home  this  afternoon  to  give  you 
a  ride."  My  little  boy  clapped  his  hands.  "  Oh, 
papa,  will  you  take  me  to  see  the  bears  in  Lincoln 
Park?"  "Yes."  I  had  not  been  gone  long  when 
my  little  boy  said,  "Mamma,  I  wish  you  would  get 
me  ready."  At  last  he  was  ready  to  have  the  ride, 
face  washed,  and  clothes  all  nice  and  clean.  "  Now, 
you  must  take  good  care  and  not  get  yourself  dirty 
again,"  said  mamma.    It  was  a  long  time  yet  until 


126  ADDRESSES 

the  afternoon,  and  after  a  little  lie  began  to  play. 
When  I  got  home,  I  found  liirn  outside,  with  his 
face  all  covered  with  dirt.  "  I  can't  take  you  to  the 
Park  that  way,  Willie."  "  Why,  papa  ?  you  said  you 
would  take  me."  "Ah,  but  I  can't;  you're  all  over 
mud.  I  couldn't  be  seen  with  such  a  dirty  little 
boy."  "  Why,  I'se  clean,  papa ;  mamma  w^ashed 
me.  "Well,  you've  got  dirty  since."  But  he  be- 
gan to  cry,  and  I  could  not  convince  him  that  he 
was  dirty.  "I'se  clean;  mamma  washed  me!"  he 
cried.  Do  you  think  I  argued  with  him  ?  No.  I 
just  took  him  up  in  my  arms,  and  carried  Mm  into 
the  house,  and  showed  him  his  face  in  the  looking- 
glass.  He  could  not  take  my  word  for  it;  but  one 
look  at  the  glass  was  enough.  He  didn't  say  he 
wasn't  dirty  after  that !  The  looking-glass  showed 
him  that  his  face  was  dirt^' — hut  I  did  not  take  tJie 
looking-glass  to  wash  it;  of  course  not.  Yet  that  is 
just  what  thousands  of  people  do.  The  law  is  the 
looking-glass  to  see  ourselves  in,  to  show  us  how 
^'ile  and  worthless  w^e  are  in  the  sight  of  God;  but 
they  take  the  law,  and  try  to  luash  themselves  with 
it !  Man  has  been  trying  that  for  six  thousand 
years,  and  has  miserably  failed.  "  By  the  deeds  of 
the  law  there  shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight." 
Only  one  Man  ever  lived  on  the  earth  who  could 
say  He  had  kept  the  law,  and  that  was  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  But  men  have  tried  to  do  what  He 
did,  and  have  failed.  Instead  of  sheltering  under 
his  righteousness,  they  have  offered  God  theii-  own. 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  127 

119.  What  are  We  Dorig. — There  tire  more  men 
worsliippiiig  the  golden  calf  than  the  Grod  of  heaven. 
They  bring  before  it  health  and  happiness  and  peace. 
"  Give  me  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  and  I  will  sell  you 
Christ,"  is  the  world's  cry  to-day.  "  Give  me  fash- 
ion, and  I  will  sell  you  Christ!"  "I  will  sacrifice 
my  wife,  my  children,  my  life,  my  all,  for  a  little 
drink.  I  will  sell  my  soul  for  drink ! "  It  is  easy 
to  blame  these  men  for  worshipping  the  golden  caK. 
But  what  are  we  doing  ourselves  ? 

120.  Never. — The  law  has  never  saved  a  single 
man  since  the  world  began. 

121.  Sinners  on  a  Level  Then. — It  was  my  sad  lot 
to  be  in  the  Chicago  fire.  As  the  flames  rolled  down 
our  streets,  destroying  every  thing  in  their  onward 
march,  I  saw  the  great  and  the  honorable,  the  learned 
and  the  wise,  fleeing  before  the  fire  with  the  beggar, 
and  the  thief,  and  the  harlot.  All  were  alike.  As 
the  flames  swept  through  the  city  it  was  like  the 
judgment  day.  The  mayor,  nor  the  mighty  men, 
nor  wise  men  could  stop  these  flames.  They  were 
all  on  a  level  then,  and  many  who  were  worth  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  were  left  paupers  that  night. 
When  the  day  of  judgment  comes,  there  will  be  no 
difierence;  all  sinners  will  suffer. 

122.  What  the  Gospel  has  Undone. — No  man  can 
ever  tell  what  the -Gospel  has  done  for  him,  but  I 


128  ADDRESSES 

think  I  can  tell  what  it  has  undone.  It  has  talren 
out  of  my  path  four  of  the  bitterest  enemies  I  ever 
had.  Death,  the  Grave,  Sin  and  the  Judgment, 
have  all  lost  their  terror  for  me. 

123.  Christ's  Enemies  His  Witnesses.' — First,  call 
the  Pharisees.  We  know  how  they  hated  Him. 
Come,  Pharisees,  tell  us  what  you  have  against  the 
Son  of  God.  "  This  man  receiveth  sinners."  What 
an  argument  to  bring  against  Him !  Why,  it  is  the 
very  thing  that  makes  us  love  Him.  He  receives 
sinners.  If  He  had  not,  what  would  have  become 
of  us?  Have  you  nothing  more  to  bring  against 
Him  than  this?  "He  saved  others.  Himself  He 
cannot  save."  And  so  He  did  save  others,  but  He 
could  not  save  Himself  and  save  us  too.  So  He 
laid  down  his  own  life  for  yours  and  mine.  Yes, 
Pharisees,  you  have  told  the  truth  for  once  in  your 
lives! — "He  saved  others.  Himself  He  cannot  save." 

Now,  let  us  call  upon  Caiaphas.  Let  him  stand  up 
here  in  his  flowing  robes.  "  Caiaphas,  you  were  chief 
priest  when  Christ  was  tried;  you  were  president  of 
the  Sanhedrim;  you  were  in  the  council-chamber 
when  they  found  Him  guilty;  you  yourself  con- 
demned Him.  Tell  us  ;  what  did  the  witnesses 
say  ?     On  what  grounds  did  you  judge  Him  ?  " 

"He  hath  spoken  blasphemy,"  says  Caiaphas. 
•*  He  said,  '  Hereafter  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  Man 
Bitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven.'     When  I  heard  that,  I  found 


AND    BEST    T1I0UGUT3.  129 

Him  guilty  of  blasj)liemy;  I  rent  my  mantle,  aud 
condemned  Him  to  death."  Yes,  all  that  they  had 
against  Him  was  that  He  was  the  Son  of  God;  and 
they  slew  Him  for  the  promise  of  His  comiiig  for 
His  bride. 

Now,  let  us  summon  Pilate.  Let  him  enter  the 
witness-box.  Pilate,  this  man  was  brought  before 
3^ou;  you  examined  Him;  you  talked  with  Him  face 
to  face,  what  think  ye  of  Christ  ?  Says  Pilate.  "  He 
said  He  was  the  King  of  the  Jews,  but  I  find  no 
fault  in  Him."  Such  is  the  testimony  of  the  man 
who  examined  Him !  And,  as  he  stands  there,  the 
centre  of  a  Jewish  mob,  there  comes  along  a  man, 
elbowing  his  way,  in  haste.  He  rushes  up  to  Pilate 
and  gives  him  a  message.  He  tears  it  open;  his 
face  turns  pale  as  he  reads — "Have  thou  nothing 
to  do  with  this  just  man,  for  I  have  suffered  many 
things  this  day  in  a  dream  because  of  Him."  It  is 
from  Pilate's  wife — her  testimony  to  Christ. 

And  now,  look — in  comes  Judas.  He  ought  to 
make  a  good  witness.  "  Come,  tell  us,  Judas,  what 
think  ye  of  Christ.  You  knew  the  Master  well;  you 
sold  Him  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver;  you  betrayed 
Him  with  a  kiss;  you  saw  Him  perform  those  mira- 
cles; you  were  with  Him  in  Jerusalem.  What  think 
ye  of  Him  ?  "  I  can  see  him  as  he  comes  into  the 
presence  of  the  chief  priests;  I  can  hear  the  money 
ring  as  he  dashes  it  upon  the  table — "  /  have  betrayed 
innocent  blood  !  " 

Let  us  take  the  centurion,  who  was  present  at 
9 


130  ADDRESSES 

the  execution.  "  Centurion,  you  had  charge  of  the 
executioners;  you  saw  that  the  order  for  his  death 
was  carried  out;  you  saw  Him  die;  jou  heard  Him 
speak  upon  the  cross.  Tell  us,  ivhat  think  ye  of 
Christ?"  Hark!  Look  at  him;  he  is  smiting  his 
breast  as  he  cries,  "  Truly,  this  ivas  the  Son  of  God  !  " 
I  might  go  to  the  thief  upon  the  cross,  and  ask 
what  he  thought  of  Him.  At  first  he  railed  upon 
Him  and  reviled  Him.  But  then  he  thought  better 
of  it.  "This  man  hath  done  nothing  amiss,"  he 
says.  I  might  go  further.  I  might  summon  the 
very  devils  themselves  and  ask  them  for  their  testi- 
mony. Have  they  any  thing  to  say  of  Him  ?  Why, 
the  very  devils  called  Him  the  Son  of  God !  In 
Mark  we  have  the  unclean  spirit  crying,  "Jesus, 
Thou  Son  of  the  most  High  God." 

124.  Devils  Believe. — Men  say,  "Oh,  I  believe 
Christ  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  and  because  I  believe 
it  intellectually,  I  shall  be  saved."  I  tell  you  the 
devils  did  that.  And  they  did  more  than  that,  they 
trembled. 

125.  If  ? — Did  you  ever  stop  to  think  what  would 
take  place  if  God  should  take,  at  his  word,  every  one 
v/ho  makes  excuse? — if  He  were  to  say,  "Yes,  if  you 
want  to  be  excused  from  this  feast,  I  will  excuse 
you,"  and  with  the  next  stroke  should  sweep  them 
all  from  the  face  of  the  earth?  Supposing  every 
one  should  be  taken  at  their  word,  and  laid  in  the 


AND   BEST    THOUGHTS.  131 

arms  of  death,  how  many  of  your  shops  would  be 
closed  to-morrow;  how  many  homes  would  be  filled 
with  mournmg  and  tears  ?  Not  a  publican  would 
be  left  to  carry  on  his  traffic;  every  rum-seller 
wants  to  be  excused.  He  knows  that  if  he  accepts 
of  this  invitation,  he  would  have  to  give  up  his 
hellish  trade.  He  could  not  go  on  making  all  those 
fatherless  children,  and  taking  the  bread  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  orphan  and  the  widow,  and  be  on  his 
way  to  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb  at  the  same 
time.  If  God  did  excuse  them  and  take  them  away 
with  a  stroke,  you  would  have  no  drunkards  reeling 
through  your  streets.  There  would  be  no  harlots 
then,  for  every  harlot  wants  to  be  excused;  she 
knows  she  has  to  give  up  her  sins  if  she  wants  to 
be  present  at  the  supper  of  the  Lamb.  And  your 
princely  merchants,  many  of  them,  would  be  gone. 
They  do  not  want  to  accept  the  invitation,  because 
they  think  if  they  do  they  cannot  make  money  so 
fast.  But  oh,  my  friends,  it  would  be  a  solemn 
time  if  God  should  take  men  at  their  word.  The 
grass  would  soon  be  growing  in  the  streets,  and  the 
living  would  be  occupied  in  burying  the  dead. 

126.  The  Origin  of  Excuses. — Do  you  know  the 
origin  of  excuses?  You  will  find  it  away  back  in 
Eden.  When  Adam  had  sinned,  he  tried  to  excuse 
himself.  "  The  woman  whom  Thou  gavest  to  be  with 
me,  she  gave  me  of  the  tree,  and  I  did  eat."  He 
tried  to  lay  the  blame  on  God,  Eve  tried  to  lay  it 


132  ADDRESSES 

on  the  serpent;  and  down  to  the  present  time,  men 
and  women,  with  one  consent,  begin  to  make  excuse. 

127.  The  Chief. — To-day  Christ  may  be  a  root 
out  of  a  dry  ground,  without  form  or  comehness; 
but  He  will  become  to  you  the  chiefest  among  ten 
thousand,  the  altogether  lovely,  the  bright,  and  the 
morning  star,  if  you  take  Him  as  your  Saviour. 

128.  Unitabianism  Settled. — John  takes  up  his 
pen,  and,  with  one  stroke,  forever  settles  the  ques- 
tion of  Unitarianism.  He  goes  right  back  before 
the  time  of  Adam.  "In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
was  God." 

129.  The  Gospel  for  Each. — I  can  imagine  Peter 
saying,  "Lord,  do  you  really  mean  that  we  shall 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature  ?  "  "  Yes,  Pe- 
ter." "Shall  we  go  back  to  Jerusalem  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  those  Jerusalem  sinners  who  mui-dered 
you  ?  "  "  Yes,  Peter,  and  tarry  there  until  you  are 
endued  with  power  from  on  high.  Go  search  out 
that  man  who  spat  in  my  face;  tell  him  I  forgive 
him ;  there  is  nothing  in  my  heart  but  love  for  him. 
Go,  search  out  the  man  who  put  that  cruel  crown 
of  thorns  on  my  brow;  tell  him  I  will  have  a  crown 
ready  for  him  in  my  kingdom,  if  he  will  accept  sal- 
vation; there  shall  not  be  a  thorn  in  it,  and  he  shall 
wear  it  forever  and  ever  in  the  kingdom  of  his  Re- 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  133 

deemer.  Find  out  that  man  wlio  took  the  reed  from 
my  hand,  and  smote  my  head,  driving  the  thorns 
deeper  into  my  brow.  If  he  will  accept  salvation 
as  a  gift,  I  will  give  him  a  sceptre,  and  he  shall 
sway  it  over  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Yes,  I  will 
give  him  to  sit  with  Me  uj^on  my  throne.  Go,  seek 
that  man  who  struck  Me  with  the  palm  of  his  hand; 
tell  him  that  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth 
fi'om  all  sin,  and  my  blood  was  shed  for  him  freely." 
"  Go,  seek  out  that  poor  soldier  who  drove  the  spear 
into  my  side;  tell  him  that  there  is  a  nearer  way  to 
my  heart  than  that.  Tell  him  that  I  forgive  him 
freely;  and  tell  him  I  will  make  him  a  soldier  of 
the  cross,  and  my  banner  over  him  shall  be  love." 

130.  "No  Greater  Lie." — There  is  another  class 
who  say,  *'I  love  the  world  very  much  and  if  I  be- 
come a  Christian  I  shall  have  to  give  up  all  pleasure 
and  go  through  the  world  with  a  long  face."  I  want 
to  say  here,  that  no  greater  lie  was  ever  forged  than 
that.  The  devil  started  it  away  back  in  Eden ;  but 
there  is  not  one  word  of  truth  in  it;  it  is  a  libel 
upon  Christianity.  It  does  not  make  a  man  gloomy 
to  become  a  child  of  God.  See!  there  is  a  man 
going  to  execution.  In  a  few  moments  he  will  be 
launched  into  eternity.  But,  flashing  over  the  wires, 
comes  a  message,  a  reprieve.  I  run  in  haste  to  the 
man.  I  shout,  "  Good  news  !  good  news  !  You  are 
not  to  die  !  "  Does  that  make  him  gloomy  ?  No  ! 
no !  no  !    It  is  the  want  of  Christ  that  makes  men 


134  ADDRESSES 

gloomy  ?  Take  a  man  who  is  really  thirsty,  dying 
for  want  of  water,  and  you  go  and  give  him  water. 
Is  that  going  to  make  him  gloomy  ?  That  is  what 
Clnist  is — water  to  the  thirsty  soul.  If  a  man  is 
dying  for  want  of  bread,  and  you  give  him  bread,  is 
that  to  make  him  gloomy  ?  That  is  what  Christ  is 
to  the  soul — the  bread  of  life.  You  will  never  have 
true  pleasure  or  peace  or  joy  or  comfort  until  you 
have  found  Cluist. 

131.  The  Three  Excuses. — Let  us  take  up  these 
three  men  who,  "  with  one  consent,  began  to  make 
excuse." 

What  did  the  first  one  say ?  "I  have  bought  a 
piece  of  ground,  and  I  must  needs  go  and  see  it." 
Some  one  has  said,  Why  did  he  not  look  at  the 
ground  before  he  bought  it?  If  he  had  been  a 
good  business  man,  he  would  have  seen  his  ground 
first,  he  couldn't  make  the  bargain  any  better  by 
going  to  look  at  it  now.  And  now  that  he  has  got 
it,  he  can  go  and  look  at  it  at  any  time;  the  land 
could  not  run  away !  It  was  not  that  he  had  made 
a  partial  bargain  and  might  withdraw,  or  that  some 
one  might  step  in  ahead  of  him  and  get  the  ground 
from  him.  He  did  not  even  have  that  excuse.  He 
had  bought  the  land,  there  was  no  fear  that  he 
should  lose  his  title  to  it.  Yet  he  must  needs  go 
and  see  it.  Strange  time  to  go  and  see  ground  just 
at  supper-time !  On  the  face  of  it,  it  was  a  down- 
right lie.     He  did  not  want  to  go  to  the  feast,  and 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  135 

SO  he  manufactured  this  excuse  to  ease  his  con- 
science. That  is  what  people  make  excuses  for. 
The  devil  gets  men  into  that  cradle  and  rocks  them 
to  sleep  in  it. 

What  did  the  second  man  say ?  "I  have  bought 
five  yoke  of  oxen,  and  I  go  to  prove  them.  I  pray 
thee  have  me  excused."  Why  not  prove  them  before 
he  bought  them?  It  was  no  time  to  prove  oxen 
after  they  were  bought.  And  now  that  the  bargain 
was  closed  he  could  prove  them  any  time.  Why  not 
let  them  stand  in  the  stall  till  he  had  accepted  this 
invitation?     Don't  you  see  that  was  another  lie? 

The  third  man's  excuse  was  the  most  ridiculous 
of  them  all.  "  I  have  married  a  wife  and  therefore 
I  cannot  come."  Why  did  he  not  take  his  wife 
along  with  him  ?  Who  likes  to  go  to  a  feast  better 
than  a  young  bride  ?  He  might  have  asked  her  to 
go  too;  and  if  she  were  not  willing,  then  let  her 
stay  at  home.     The  fact  was,  he  did  not  want  to  go. 

132.  A  Jubilee  Meeting. — Some  people,  when  the 
Gospel  is  preached,  put  on  a  long  face,  as  if  they 
had  to  attend  a  funeral  or  witness  an  execution,  or 
hear  some  dry,  stupid  lecture  or  sermon.  It  was 
my  privilege  to  go  into  Kichmond  with  General 
Grant's  army.  I  had  not  been  long  there  before  it 
was  announced  that  the  negroes  were  going  to  have 
a  jubilee  meeting.  These  colored  people  were  just 
awakening  to  the  fact  that  they  were  fi-ee.  And  I 
went  down  to  the  African  Church,  one  of  the  largest 


136  ADDRESSES 

in  tlie  South,  and  found  it  crowded.  One  of  the 
colored  chaplains  of  a  northern  regiment  had  of- 
fered to  speak.  I  have  heard  many  eloquent  men 
in  Europe  and  in  America,  but  I  do  not  think  I 
ever  heard  eloquence  such  as  I  heard  that  day.  He 
said,  "Mothers!  you  i-ejoice  to-day;  you  are  forever 
free !  That  little  child  has  been  torn  from  your  em- 
brace, and  sold  off  to  some  distant  state  for  the  last 
time.  Your  hearts  are  never  to  be  broken  again  in 
that  way;  you  are  free."  The  women  clapped  their 
hands  and  shouted  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  "  Glory, 
glory  to  God ! "  It  was  good  news  to  them,  and 
they  believed  it.  It  filled  them  full  of  joy.  Then  he 
turned  to  the  young  men,  and  said,  "  Young  men  ? 
you  rejoice  to-day;  you  have  heard  the  crack  of  the 
slave-di'iver's  whip  for  the  last  time;  your  posterity 
shall  be  free;  young  men  rejoice  to-day,  you  are 
forever  free !  "  And  they  clapped  their  hands,  and 
shouted,  "  Glory  to  God !  "  They  believed  the  good 
tidings.  "  Young  maidens  !  "  he  said,  "  you  rejoice 
to-day.  You  have  been  put  on  the  auction-block 
and  sold  for  the  last  time;  you  are  free — forever 
free !  "  They  believed  it,  and  lifting  up  their  voices, 
shouted,  "  Glory  be  to  God !  "  I  never  was  in  such 
a  meeting.  They  believed  that  it  was  good  news  to 
them. 

133.  One  Sin  Excludes. — "When  we  got  our  charter 
for  the  city  of  Chicago,  there  was  one  clause  in  the 
constitution  that  allowed  the  mayor  to  appoint  all 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  137 

the  police.  It  worked  well  wlien  it  was  a  small  city; 
but  when  it  had  three  or  four  hundred  thousand  in- 
habitants, it  put  too  much  power  in  the  hands  of 
one  man.  So  our  citizens  got  a  new  bill  passed  that 
put  the  power  into  the  hands  of  commissioners  ap- 
pointed by  government.  There  was  one  clause  in 
the  new  law  that  no  man  should  be  a  poHceman  who 
was  not  a  certain  height — five  feet  six  inches,  let 
us  say.  When  the  commissioners  got  into  power, 
they  advertised  for  men  as  candidates,  and  stated 
that  no  man  need  apply  who  could  not  bring  good 
credentials  to  recommend  him,  I  remember  going 
past  the  office  one  day,  and  there  was  a  crowd  of 
them  waiting  to  get  in.  They  were  comparing  notes 
as  to  their  chances  of  success.  One  says,  "I  have 
got  a  good  letter  of  recommendation  from  the 
mayor,  and  one  from  the  supreme  judge."  An- 
other says,  "And  I  have  got  a  good  letter  from 
Senator  So-and-so.  I'm  sure  to  get  in."  The  two 
men  come  on  together,  and  lay  their  letters  down 
on  the  commissioners'  desk.  "  Well,"  say  the  offi- 
cials, "  you  have  certainly  a  good  many  letters,  but 
we  won't  read  them  till  we  measure  you."  Ah! 
they  forgot  all  about  that.  So  the  first  man  is 
measured,  and  he  is  only  five  feet.  "  No  chance  for 
you,  sii';  the  law  says  the  men  must  be  five  feet  six 
inches,  and  you  don't  come  up  to  the  standard.'* 
The  other  says,  "My  chance  is  better  than  his,  I  am 
a  good  bit  taller."  That  is  what  people  are  always 
doing,  measuring  themselves  by  others.     Measure 


138  ADDRESSES 

yourself  by  the  law  of  God,  or  by  tbe  Son  of  God 
Himself;  and  if  you  do  that,  you  will  find  you 
have  come  short.  He  goes  up  to  the  officers,  and 
the}^  measure  him;  he  is  five  feet,  five  inches,  and 
nine  tenths  of  an  inch.  "  No  good,"  they  tell  him, 
"you're  not  up  to  the  standard."  "But  I'm  only 
one  tenth  of  an  inch  short,"  he  remonstrates.  "  It's 
no  matter,"  they  say,  "there  is  no  difference."  He 
goes  with  the  man  who  was  five  feet.  One  comes 
short  six  inches,  and  the  other  only  one  tenth  of  an 
inch;  but  the  law  cannot  be  changed.  And  the  law 
of  God  is,  that  no  man  shall  go  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  with  one  sin  on  him. 

134.  A  Prejudice  Answered. — You  say,  "I  would 
like  to  become  a  Christian,  but  /  have  a  prejudice 
against  these  special  meetings.  If  it  was  a  regular 
ministry,  and  it  was  our  regular  minister,  I  would 
accept  the  invitation."  If  that  is  your  difficulty,  I 
can  help  you  out  of  it.  You  can  just  get  right  up, 
and  go  out  of  the  hall,  and  walk  straight  over  to 
your  minister,  and  have  a  talk  with  him.  And  if 
you  say  you  do  not  want  to  be  converted  in  a 
special  meeting,  there  are  regular  meetings  in  all 
the  churches  throughout  the  town,  and  your  min- 
ister would  be  heartily  glad  to  talk  with  you  about 
your  soul. 

135.  Election. — Supposing  a  man,  wishing  to  go 
to  London,  should  say,  "I  don't  know  if  God  has 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  139 

decreed  it.  If  I  am  to  be  there,  I  will  be  there. 
What  is  the  use  of  paying  fare  and  taking  trouble 
about  it  ?  If  I  am  elected  to  get  there,  I  will  get 
there  somehow."  Who  would  use  such  language  as 
that  ?  Or  suppose  a  farmer  were  to  say,  "  I  am  not 
going  to  plant;  if  God  has  decreed  that  I  am  to 
have  a  crop,  I  shall  have  it.  I  am  not  going  to 
trouble  myself  tilling  the  ground  or  working  hard; 
if  God  has  decreed  that  I  will  have  a  good  harvest, 
why,  I  shall  have  it  without  any  tilling."  Or  sup- 
pose you  are  sick,  and  do  not  send  for  the  doctor. 
Suppose  you  say,  "If  God  has  decreed  it,  I  shall  get 
well,"  so  you  refuse  to  take  the  medicines.  You  say, 
"  There  is  no  use  in  it;  if  God  has  decreed  that  I 
am  to  get  well,  I  will  get  well  without  it."  Who- 
ever talks  in  that  way  ?  Yet  a  good  many  people 
carry  out  that  very  doctrine  with  regard  to  spiritual 
things. 

136.  Good  Enough  to  Teavel  in. — I  was  going  to 
New  Orleans  from  Chicago  a  few  years  ago,  and 
there  were  two  ladies  in  the  carriage  with  me. 
They  got  well  acquainted  with  one  another  by  the 
time  they  reached  Cairo,  where  one  lived;  the  other 
was  going  on  to  New  Orleans.  The  one  who  had 
to  get  out  at  Cairo  said  to  the  other,  "  I  wish  you 
would  stay  here  with  me  for  a  few  days,  I  like  your 
company  so  much."  "I  should  like  to  stay,"  replied 
the  other,  "  but  my  things  are  all  packed  and  have 
gone  on  before;  I  have  no  clothes  but  those  I  am 


140  ADDRESSES 

wearing.  They  are  good  enough  to  travel  in^  but  I 
would  not  like  to  be  seen  in  company  with  them.'* 
Now  that  is  the  way  with  the  Christian.  He  is 
away  from  home  here,  his  treasure  has  gone  on  be- 
fore, and  any  thing  is  good  enough  to  travel  in.  If 
things  don't  go  on  smoothly  down  here  we  need  not 
be  too  particular,  they're  good  enough  to  travel  in. 
If  our  treasures  are  in  heaven  our  hearts  will  be 
there,  and  we  shall  be  living  as  pilgrims  and  stran- 
gers on  the  earth. 

137.  No  Time  ! — So  thousands  and  thousands  say 
they  have  no  time  to  be  religious.  "Wbat  have  you 
done  with  all  the  time  that  God  has  given  you  ? 
What  have  you  been  doing  all  these  months  and 
years  that  have  rolled  away  since  He  gave  you 
birth?  Is  it  true  you  have  no  time?  What  did 
you  do  with  the  365  days  of  last  year  ?  Had  you 
no  time  during  all  these  twelve  months  to  seek  the 
kingdom  of  God  ?  You  spend  twenty  years  getting 
an  education  to  enable  you  to  earn  a  living  for  this 
poor  frail  body,  so  soon  to  be  eaten  up  of  worms. 
You  spend  seven  or  eight  years  in  learning  a  trade, 
that  you  may  earn  your  daily  bread;  and  yet  you 
have  not  five  minutes  to  accept  of  this  invitation  of 
Christ's!  My  friend,  bear  in  mind  you  have  yet 
to  find  time  to  die;  to  stand  in  the  presence  of  the 
Judge.  And  when  he  calls  you  to  stand  before  that 
bar,  will  you  dare  to  tell  Him  that  you  had  no  time 
to  prepare  for  the  marriage  supper  of  His  Son? 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  141 

You  have  no  time  ?  Take  time  ?  Let  every  thing 
else  be  laid  aside  until  you  have  accepted  of  this 
invitation.  Do  you  not  know  that  it  is  a  lie  ?  If 
you  have  not  time,  take  it.  "  Seek  first  the  king- 
dom of  God."  Let  the  children  sit  up  a  little  late 
to-night.  Let  your  -business  be  suspended  to-mor- 
row. Suppose  you  do  not  get  so  much  money  to- 
morrow. What  matter  it  if  you  get  Christ  ?  Better 
for  a  man  to  be  sure  of  salvation  than  to  "  gain  the 
whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul." 

138.  The  Lord's  "Work  Needs  Money. — When  men 
go  up  in  balloons  they  take  with  them  bags  of  sand 
for  ballast,  and  when  they  want  to  rise  higher  they 
throw  out  some  of  the  sand.  Now  there  are  some 
Christians  who,  before  they  rise  higher  will  have  to 
throw  out  some  ballast.  It  may  be  money,  or  any 
other  worldly  consideration,  but  if  they  wish  to  rise, 
they  must  get  rid  of  it.  If  you  have  got  overloaded, 
just  throw  out  a  little  money,  and  you  will  mount 
up  as  on  eagle's  wings.  Any  minister  will  tell  you 
what  to  do  with  it.  I  never  saw  any  department  of 
the  Lord's  woi*k  that  did  not  want  some  money. 

139.  Betteb  Higher  Up. — Not  long  ago  there  lived 
an  old  bed-ridden  saint,  and  a  Christian  lady  who 
visited  her  found  her  always  very  cheerful.  This 
visitor  had  a  lady  friend  of  wealth  who  constantly 
looked  on  the  dark  side  of  things,  and  was  always 
cast  down  although  she  was  a  professed  Christian. 


142  ADDRESSES 

She  thought  it  would  do  this  lady  good  to  see  the 
bed-ridden  saint,  so  she  took  her  down  to  the  house. 
She  lived  up  in  the  garret,  five  stories  up,  and  when 
they  had  got  to  the  first  story  the  lady  drew  up  her 
dress  and  said,  "  How  dark  and  filthy  it  is  ?  "  "  It's 
better  higher  up ! "  said  her  friend.  They  got  to 
the  next  story,  and  it  was  no  better;  the  lady  com- 
plained again,  but  her  friend  replied,  "It's  better 
higher  up,"  At  the  third  floor  it  seemed  still  worse, 
and  the  lady  kept  complaining,  but  her  friend  kept 
saying,  "It's  better  higher  up."  At  last  they  got 
to  the  fifth  story,  and  when  they  went  into  the  sick 
room,  there  was  a  nice  carpet  on  the  floor,  there 
were  flowering  plants  in  the  window,  and  little 
birds  singing.  And  there  they  found  this  bed-rid- 
den saint — one  of  those  saints  whom  God  is  polish- 
ing for  his  own  temple — ^just  beaming  with  joy.  The 
lady  said  to  her  "  it  must  be  very  hard  for  you  to  lie 
here."  She  smiled,  and  said,  "//^'s  better  higher  ujd.'* 
Yes!  And  if  things  go  against  us,  my  friends,  let 
us  remember  that  "it's  better  higher  up." 

140.  Thank  God  for  Adversity. — John  Bunyan 
thanked  God  more  for  Bedford  jail  than  for  any 
thing  that  ever  happened  to  him. 

141.  Missing  the  Mark. — In  olden  times  in  Eng- 
land, they  used  to  have  a  game  of  firing  arrows 
through  a  ring  on  the  top  of  a  pole.  The  man 
that  failed  to  get  all  his  arrows  through  the  ring 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  143 

was  called  a  "sinner."  Now  I  should  like  to  take 
up  that  illustration.  Suppose  our  pole  to  be  up  in 
the  gallery,  and  on  the  top  of  it  the  ring.  I  have 
ten  arrows,  and  Mr.  Sankey  has  ten.  I  take  up  the 
first  arrow,  and  take  aim.  Alas!  I  miss  the  mark. 
Therefore  I  am  a  "sinner."  "But,"  I  say,  "I  will 
do  the  best  I  can  with  the  other  nine;  I  have  only 
missed  with  one."  Like  some  men  who  try  to  keep 
all  the  commandments  but  one!  I  fire  again,  and 
miss  the  mark  a  second  time.  "Ah,  but,"  I  say,  "I 
have  got  eight  arrows  still,"  and  av/ay  goes  another 
arrow — miss !  I  fire  all  the  ten  arrows  and  do  not 
get  one  through  the  ring.  Well,  I  was  a  "  sinner  " 
after  the  first  miss,  and  I  can  only  be  a  sinner  after 
the  tenth.  Well,  Mr.  Sankey  takes  his  ten  arrows. 
He  fires  and  gets  his  first  arrow  through.  "Do 
you  see  that?  "  he  says.  "Well,"  I  reply,  "go  on; 
don't  boast  until  you  get  them  all  through."  He 
takes  the  second  arrow  and  gets  that  through. 
"Ha!  do  you  see  that?"  "Don't  boast,"  I  repeat, 
"  until  all  ten  are  through; "  if  a  man  has  not  broken 
the  law  at  all  then  he  has  got  something  to  boast 
of!  Away  goes  the  third,  and  it  goes  through. 
Then  another  and  another  all  right,  and  another 
until  nine  are  through.  "Now,"  he  says,  "one 
more  arrow,  and  I  am  not  a  sinner."  He  takes  up 
the  last  arrow,  and  his  hand  trembles  a  little;  he 
just  misses  the  mark.  And  he  is  a  ''sinner"  as 
much  as  I  am.  My  friend,  have  you  never  missed 
the  mark.     Have  you  not  come  short?     I  should 


144  ADDRESSES 

like  to  see  the  man  who  never  missed  the  mark. 
He  never  lived. 

142.  Out  of  the  Poor-housb. — A  few  years  ago, 
I  was  going  away  to  preach  one  Sunday  morning, 
when  a  young  man  drove  up  in  front  of  us.  He 
had  an  aged  woman  with  him.  "Who  is  that 
young  man  ?  "  I  asked.  "  Do  you  see  that  beautiful 
meadow?"  said  my  friend,  "and  that  land  there 
with  the  house  upon  it?"  "Yes,"  "His  father 
drank  that  all  up,"  he  said.  His  father  w^as  a  great 
drunkard,  squandered  his  property,  died,  and  left 
his  wife  in  the  poor-house.  And  that  young  man 
has  toiled  hard  and  earned  money,  and  bought  back 
the  land;  he  has  taken  his  mother  out  of  the  poor- 
house,  and  now  he  is  taking  her  to  church."  The 
first  Adam  sold  us  in  Eden,  sold  us  for  nought,  but, 
the  Messiah,  the  second  Adam,  came  and  bought  us 
back  again.  The  first  Adam  brought  us  to  the  poor- 
house;  the  second  Adam  makes  us  kings  and  priests 
unto  God. 

143.  In  Eternity  a  Pauper. — A  friend  of  mine 
called  on  a  wealthy  Illinois  farmer,  to  get  him  in- 
terested in  a  soldiers'  mission.  He  took  him  up 
on  the  cupola  of  his  house,  and  said,  "Look  yon- 
der, over  that  beautiful  rolling  prairie,  that  is  all 
mine,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  He  took  him  to 
another  view,  and  pointing  over  the  rich  farms  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  showed  him  pasture  land  for 


AND   BEST   THOUGHTS.  145 

thirty  miles  round,  with  large  herds  of  cattle,  and 
horses,  and  sheep  feeding.  "They  are  all  mine," 
he  said;  "I  have  made  it  all  myself."  Then  he 
pointed  proudly  towards  the  town,  and  showed  him 
streets,  and  piles  of  buildings,  and  a  great  hall 
named  after  himself,  and  said  once  more,  "They 
are  all  mine;  I  came  h'ere  a  poor  man,  but  my  own 
industry  has  done  it  all." 

My  friend  said,  when  he  had  seen  all,  raising  his 
finger,  and  pointing  solemnly  to  the  sky,  "What, 
have  you  got  up  there  ?  "  The  rich  man's  counte- 
nance fell.  "Where?"  he  asked.  "In  heaven." 
"I  have  got  nothing  there."  Alas!  he  had  lived 
his  threescore  years  and  ten,  and  must  soon  enter 
eternity,  yet  he  had  no  treasure  there.  "Is  it  not 
strange,"  said  my  friend,  "a  man  of  your  judgment 
and  forethought,  making  such  a  wreck  of  life,  living 
for  the  moment,  on  borrowed  time,  to  die  a  beggar, 
and  enter  eternity  a  pauper  ?  "  But  a  few  mt)nths 
after  that  he  died  as  he  had  lived,  and  his  property 
went  to  others. 

144.  Christ's  SurrERma  not  Realized.  —  I  re- 
member when  our  war  was  going  on  I  took  up  the 
morning  paper  and  read  of  a  terrible  battle — ten 
thousand  men  killed,  and  I  laid  the  paper  down 
and  forgot  it.  At  last  I  went  into  the  battle-field 
and  helped  to  bear  away  the  sick  and  wounded; 
after  I  had  been  over  one  or  two  battle-fields  I  be- 
gan to  realize  what  it  meant.     I  could  hear  the  dy- 

10 

r 


146  ADDRESSES 

ing  groans  of  the  men  and  their  cry  for  water, 
and  when  I  heard  of  a  battle  the  whole  thing  was 
stamped  upon  my  mind.  I  can  tell  you  how  a  little 
child  suffered  and  it  will  bring  tears  to  your  eyes, 
but  I  tell  you  how  the  Son  of  God  suffered  and 
some  of  you  will  go  out  laughing. 

145.  Heavenly  Treasures. — When  I  was  on  the 
Pacific  Coast  I  spent  my  first  Sunday  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. I  went  to  the  Sunday-school,  but  it  was  a 
very  stormy  day,  and  so  few  made  their  appearance, 
the  superintendent  was  in  doubt  whether  he  should 
not  send  them  home  again.  However,  it  was  de- 
cided to  go  on  with  the  lesson,  and  I  was  asked  to 
undertake  the  task.  The  subject,  "Our  Treasures 
in  Heaven."  The  blackboard  was  ready,  and  being 
a  poor  writer  myself,  I  handed  the  chalk  to  one  of 
the  teachers,  and  said  to  the  children,  "  Now,  I  want 
you  to  tell  me  some  earthly  treasures  ;  what  do  you 
suppose  men  think  most  of  ? "  Some  one  cried, 
"Money."  "  Put  that  down,"  I  said.  "Anything 
else?"  "Lands."  "Put  that  down."  Many  strange 
things  were  said ;  one  little  boy  said  "  Ram,"  and 
perhaps  he  was  nearer  the  truth  than  any  of  them, 
for  many  a  man  will  sell  soul  and  body,  and  business 
and  family,  and  home  and  every  thing  else  for  drink; 
and  when  the  catalogue  was  finished,  I  asked  them 
next  to  give  me  a  list  of  heavenhj  treasures.  The 
first  answer  was  "Jesus";  and  as  we  went  on  from 
one  to  another,  we  fouud  that  the  treasures  of  heaven 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  147 

were  far  more  immerous  and  very  much  more  pre- 
cious than  all  the  treasures  which  the  earth  could 
give.  The  young  man  who  was  writing  down  the 
answers  was  an  unconverted  teacher.  As  he  scanned 
the  lists  and  compared  the  earthly  with  the  heavenly, 
he  stood  transfixed  with  shame.  "What  a  fool  have 
I  been !  "  he  says  to  himself ;  "  I  have  come  to  this 
Pacific  Coast,  and  spent  my  substance  for  such 
things  of  earth !  "  And  there  at  that  blackboard 
he  vowed  to  God  that  for  the  rest  of  his  life  his 
heart  should  be  set  alone  upon  the  things  which  are 
above. 

146.  No  EooM. — The  world  has  no  room  for  the 
Master,  and  should  the  servant  be  above  his  Lord? 
The  cry  of  the  world  to-day  is,  as  it  was  eighteen 
hundred  years  ago,  no  room.  He  might  have  been 
born  in  a  palace,  but  He  went  to  the  manger  in 
order  that  He  might  get  His  arm  under  the  lowest 
and  bear  him  up  towards  heaven.  He  became  poor 
for  our  salies.  He  occupied  a  borrowed  cradle  and 
a  borrowed  grave.  He  had  no  home.  The  temple 
was  made  for  Him,  and  yet  it  was  closed  against 
Him. 

147.  Have  You  the  Token?— "  Yes,"  you  say,  "I 
go  to  church  every  Sunday."  That  is  not  the  token. 
"  I  read  my  Bible."  That  is  not  the  token.  "I  say 
my  prayers  every  night.  I  have  been  baptized." 
Not  one  of  these  is  the  token.     What  have  they  to 


148  ADDRESSES 

do  with  the  blood  ?  Death  will  smite  you  when  he 
comes  if  you  are  not  sheltered  behind  the  blood. 
You  must  die  or  find  a  substitute  to  die  in  your 
place.  Some  say  prayer  is  the  key  to  heaven,  but 
is  there  any  promise  to  that  effect?  It  is  the  blood 
— if  you  trample  that  under  your  feet  there  is  no 
hope  for  you  in  the  world  to  come. 

148.  LuTHEK  AND  THE  Devil. — Martin  Luther  had 
a  conflict  with  the  devil,  but  when  he  said  the  blood 
of  Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin,  Satan  left  him. 

149.  Hope  foe  the  Drunkard. — I  have  been  talk- 
ing with  a  prominent  Christian  man,  who  said  he 
did  not  think  there  was  any  hope  for  a  woman  who 
had  become  addicted  to  strong  drink,  and  another 
said  he  did  not  think  there  was  any  hope  for  a  con- 
firmed drunkard.  When  I  look  upon  a  drunkard 
and  think  of  all  the  pledges  he  has  made,  I  might 
say  they  were  right ;  but  when  I  come  to  this  chap- 
ter and  read,  "  All  power  is  given  to  Me,"  I  rejoice 
to  say  there  is  hope  for  every  drunkard  on  earth. 
Our  God  has  power  to  save.  I  would  say  to  these 
l^ersons  I  would  not  give  a  farthing  for  all  your  good 
resolutions,  you  must  be  born  again.  It  is  not  a 
reformation  but  a  new  creation.  You  will  then  hate 
strong  drink  as  much  as  you  love  it  now.  All  works 
of  the  flesh  come  to  naught.  Thanks  be  to  God, 
the  Lord  Jesus  is  stroiiger  than  your  appetite  for 
strong  drink.     He  is  mighty  to  save.     We  want  to 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  149 

come  boldly  to  God  and  ask  Him  to  save  tlie  poor 
drunkard. 

150.  A  Challenge. — I  challenge  you  to  find  any 
reason  for  not  loving  Christ.  If  you  go  to  the  lost 
world  and  ask  the  damned  spirits  in  hell  there  is 
not  one  of  them  can  give  you  a  reason.  There  is  no 
reason  can  be  given  on  earth,  and  if  you  go  to  the 
world  above  they  don't  want  to  give  a  reason,  they 
all  love  Him. 

151.  The  Legacy  of  Christ. — All  that  Christ  left 
here  of  His  person  was  His  blood.  His  blood  flowed 
out  on  Calvary.  The  soldier  hurled  his  spear,  which 
was  the  crowning  act  of  earth  and  hell,  and  blood 
came  out  of  the  Saviour's  side  and  covered  the 
spear,  teaching  us  that  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
covers  sin,  and  the  blood  touching  the  earth  re- 
deemed it.  It  touched  the  Roman  spear  and  it 
took  the  Roman  government.  It  was  not  long  be- 
fore Rome  bowed 'to  the  sceptre  of  Christ.  Oh, 
that  the  blood  may  touch  you  to-night  and  you 
may  be  saved. 

152.  Pardon. — I  was  in  Ohio  a  few  years  ago,  and 
invited  to  preach  in  the  State  prison.  Eleven  hun- 
dred convicts  were  in  the  chapel,  in  front  of  me. 
After  I  had  got  through  the  preaching,  the  chap- 
lain said  to  me  :  "  Moody,  a  few  years  ago,  our 
commissioners  went  to  the  governor  of  the  State, 


150  ADDRESSES 

and  got  him  to  promise  that  he  would  pardon  five 
men  for  good  behavior.  The  governor  consented, 
with  this  understanding — that  the  record  was  to  be 
kept  in  secret,  and  that  at  the  end  of  six  months  the 
five  men  highest  on  the  roll  should  receive  a  par- 
don, regardless  of  who  or  what  they  were.  At  the 
end  of  six  months  the  prisoners  were  all  brought 
into  the  chapel  and  the  commissioners  came  up, 
and  the  president  of  the  commissioners  stood  upon 
the  platform,  and  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket,  and 
brought  out  some  papers,  and  said,  *I  hold  in  my 
hand  pardons  for  five  men.'"  Every  man  was  as 
still  as  death;  many  were  deadly  pale,  and  the 
suspense  was  something  awful.  The  commissioner 
went  on  to  tell  them  how  they  had  got  the  pardon; 
but  the  chaplain  said  to  the  commissioner,  "  Before 
you  make  your  speech,  read  out  the  names.  This 
suspense  is  awful."  So  he  read  out  the  first  name, 
" Keuben  Johnson  will  come  and  get  his  pardon;" 
and  he  held  it  out,  but  no  one  came  forward.  He 
said  to  the  governor,  "  Are  all  the  prisoners  here  ?  " 
The  governor  told  him  they  were  all  there.  Then 
he  said  again,  "Eeuben  Johnson  will  come  and  get 
his  pardon.  It  is  signed  and  sealed  by  the  gov- 
ernor. He  is  a  free  man."  The  chaplain  told  me 
he  looked  right  down  where  Keuben  was,  and  ho 
was  looking  all  round  to  see  the  fortunate  man  who 
had  got  his  pardon.  Finally  the  chaplain  caught 
his  eye,  and  he  said,  "Eeuben,  you  are  the  man." 
Reuben  turned  round  and  looked  behiod  him  to  see 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  ^        151 

where  Reuben  was.  The  chaplain  said  the  second 
time,  "  Eeuben,  you  are  the  man,"  and  the  second 
time  he  looked  round  thinking  it  must  be  some 
other  Reuben.  Now,  men  do  not  believe  the  Gos- 
pel is  for  them.  They  think  it  is  too  good,  and 
pass  it  over  their  shoulders  to  the  next  man.  Well, 
the  chaplain  could  see  where  Reuben  was,  and  he 
had  to  say  three  times,  "Reuben,  come  and  get 
your  pardon."  At  last  the  old  man  got  up  and 
came  along  down  the  hall,  trembling  from  head  to 
foot,  and  when  he  got  the  pardon  he  looked  at  it 
and  went  back  to  his  seat  and  buried  his  face  in  his 
hands,  and  the  prisoners  heard  him  weep  to  think 
he  was  a  free  man.  "When  the  prisoners  got  into 
the  ranks  to  go  back  to  the  cells  Reuben  got  into 
the  ranks  too,  and  the  chaplain  had  to  call  to  him, 
"Reuben,  get  out  of  the  ranks;  you  are  a  free  man, 
you  are  no  longer  a  prisoner."  And  Reuben  stepped 
out  of  the  ranks.  That  is  the  way  men  make  out 
pardons.  They  make  out  pardons  for  good  charac- 
ter or  good  behavior.  But  God  makes  out  pardons 
for  men  that  have  not  got  any  character,  and  who 
have  been  very,  very  bad. 

153.  The  Boy  and  the  Gaiviblees. — A  good  many 
years  ago,  Chicago  was  a  grain  market.  There  were 
no  railways  runniDg  there  then,  and  the  grain  used 
to  be  shipped  on  the  lake.  There  was  a  man  living 
out  in  the  Western  prairies,  a  farmer  and  a  minister, 
and  he  sent  his  only  son  into  Chicago  with  a  load 


152  ADDRESSES 

of  grain.  He  waited  and  waited  for  his  boy  to  re- 
turn, but  he  did  not  come  home.  At  last  the  father 
saddled  his  horse  and  went  into  Chicago.  He  went 
where  he  had  sent  his  boy  to  sell  grain,  and  found 
that  he  had  sold  it.  Then  he  feared  that  some 
one  had  murdered  him,  and  he  got  detectives  on 
his  track.  They  tracked  him  into  a  gambling  den, 
where  he  had  gambled  away  the  whole  of  his  money. 
After  he  had  done  that  the  men  said,  "Sell  your 
horses  and  machine  and  then  you  can  get  all  the 
money  back  again  and  go  home  to  your  father,  and 
no  one  will  know  any  thing  at  all  about  it.*'  That 
is  the  way  the  devil  leads  men  on.  He  sold  his 
horses  and  machine,  and  gambled  that  money  away 
too.  What  could  he  do  ?  He  was  ashamed  to  go 
home  to  meet  his  father,  and  he  fled.  That  is  just 
exactly  like  the  sinner.  He  thinks  because  he  has 
sinned  God  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  him. 
What  did  that  father  do?  Did  he  say,  "Let  the 
boy  go?''  No;  he  went  after  him.  And  I  want  to 
say  to  you  that  from  the  time  when  Adam  fell  to  the 
present  time  God  has  been  seeking  after  His  chil- 
dren. That  man  went  from  town  to  town.  When 
he  got  into  the  pulpit  to  preach  when  he  had  fin- 
ished his  sermon  he  told  the  story  of  how  he  had 
lost  his  boy,  and  described  him,  and  he  asked  any 
of  the  audience  who  might  ever  meet  with  him  to 
write  and  let  him  know.  At  last  he  found  that 
he  had  gone  to  California.  Did  that  father  say, 
"  Let  him  go  "  ?    No.     He  went  to  San  Francisco, 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  153 

and  he  advertised  in  the  paper  that  he  would  preach 
at  such  a  church  on  such  a  day.  AYhen  he  had 
preached  he  told  his  story,  in  hopes  that  the  boy 
might  have  seen  the  advertisement  and  come  to  the 
church.  When  he  had  done,  away  under  the  gal- 
lery there  was  a  young  man  who  waited  until  the 
audience  had  gone  out;  then  he  came  towards  the 
pulpit.  The  father  looked,  and  saw  it  was  that  boy, 
and  he  ran  to  him,  and  pressed  him  to  his  bosom. 
The  boy  wanted  to  confess  what  he  had  done,  but 
not  a  word  would  the  father  hear.  He  forgave  him 
freely,  and  took  him  to  his  home.  My  friends,  you 
have  been  enticed  away  by  the  devil;  now,  God  is 
inviting  you  to  come  home  to-night. 

154.  Universaxism  Answered.  —  Suppose  Queen 
Victoria  did  not  like  any  man  to  be  deprived  of 
his  liberty,  and  threw  all  her  prisons  open,  and  was 
so  merciful  that  she  could  not  bear  any  one  to  suf- 
fer for  guilt,  how  long  would  she  hold  the  sceptre  ? 
How  long  would  she  rale  ?  Not  twenty-four  hours. 
Those  very  men  who  cry  out  about  God  being  mer- 
ciful would  say,  "We  don't  want  such  a  queen." 
Well,  God  is  merciful,  but  He  is  not  going  to  take 
an  unpardoned  sinner  into  heaven. 

155.  That  is  not  the  Question. — The  question  is 
on  the  other  side.  God  has  something  against  you. 
Suppose  a  man  stole  $1,000  from  me  and  then  said, 
"I  have  nothing  against  you."    That  is  not  what  I 


154  ADDRESSES 

want.  I  want  him  to  make  restitution.  All  sin  is 
sin  against  God,  and  tliere  will  be  no  peace  for  the 
sinner  until  Grod  is  reconciled.  If  a  man  will  seek 
forgiveness  in  Christ  his  sins  shall  be  covered  and 
■ithen  there  will  be  peace. 

156.  SiNNEKS  Bankeupt. — Christ  suffered  in  our 
stead,  for  our  sins  were  laid  upon  Him,  and  because 
He  was  punished  so  we  go  free.  Instead  of  God 
coming  down  and  punishing  us,  He  justifies  us.  It 
is  the  same  as  if  I  had  been  running  up  an  account 
in  one  of  your  stores  and  another  man  paid  it. 
When  I  go  to  pay  the  account  I  am  told:  "It  is  all 
settled;  you  are  justified,  Mr.  Moody;  there  is  noth- 
ing against  you  in  my  ledger." 

157.  Our  Worst  Enemy. — The  worst  enemy  man 
has  to-day  is  unbelief:  we  do  not  believe  that  Christ 
came  to  bless.  We  are  under  the  power  of  the  devil. 
Many  of  us  believe  the  lies  of  the  devil  instead  of 
believing  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

158.  Christ's  Love  More  than  All. — My  wife  went 
out  one  day,  and  my  little  boy,  two  years  old,  got 
hold  of  a  pair  of  scissors.  My  little  girl  knew  he 
ought  not  to  have  them,  and  she  went  to  him  and 
tried  to  get  them  away;  but  the  little  fellow  held  on 
to  the  scissors,  and  would  not  give  them  up.  ^he 
was  afraid  of  sticking  them  into  his  eyes,  so  she  ran 
and  got  an  orange,  and  held  it  up,  and  said,  "  Wil- 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  155 

lie,  do  not  you  want  the  orange?"  aDcl  tlie  little  fel- 
low dropped  the  scissors,  and  went  for  the  orange. 
If  you  will  allow  me  the  illustration,  Grod  comes 
here,  and  says,  "  Here  is  my  Son,  take  Him."  He 
saves  the  sinner;  and  the  moment  we  get  Him, 
these  things  we  love  so  much  are  gone ;  they  float 
away  into  the  dim  past.  Christ  is  worth  more  than 
all  the  world;  and  God  comes  and  says,  "Here  is 
my  Son,  take  Him,  and  believe  on  Him." 

159.  God's  Blank  Check. — And  when  Moses  said, 
"If  they  ask  me  w^ho  sent  me,  what  shall  I  tell 
them?"  God  said,  "Say  I  Am  sent  me;"  and  as 
some  one  has  said,  that  was  a  blank  check,  and 
God  told  him  to  fill  it  out;  and  when  they  were  in 
the  desert  and  wanted  water  He  filled  out  the  check 
and  drew  water  from  the  rock.  When  he  wanted 
bread  He  filled  out  the  check  and  God  gave  him 
bread  from  heaven. 

160.  The  Contrast. — Two  fathers  come  before  me. 
One  was  a  man  of  great  wealth.  Yet  he  would  have 
freely  given  it  all  could  he  have  brought  back  his 
eldest  boy  from  his  early  grave.  One  day  that  boy 
had  been  borne  home  unconscious.  "  He  must  die," 
said  the  doctor.  "But,  doctor,"  said  the  agonized 
father,  "  can  you  do  nothing  to  bring  him  to  con- 
sciousness, even  for  a  moment  ?  "  "  That  may  be, 
but  he  can  never  live."  Time  passed,  and  after  a 
terrible  suspense  the   father's  wish  was  gratified. 


156  ADDRESSES 

"My  son,"  he  whispered,  "the  doctor  tells  me  you 
are  dying."  "Well,"  said  the  boy,  "you  never 
prayed  for  me,  father;  won't  you  pray  for  my  lost 
soul  now  ?  "  The  father  wept.  It  was  true  he  had 
never  prayed.  And  in  a  little  while  that  soul,  un- 
prayed  for,  passed  into  its  dark  eternity.  Oh,  fa- 
ther !  if  your  boy  was  dying,  and  called  on  you  to 
pray,  could  you  lift  your  burdened  heart  to  heaven  ? 
"What  a  contrast  is  the  other  father !  He,  too,  had 
a  lovely  boy,  and  one  day  he  came  home  to  find  him 
at  the  gates  of  death.  "  A  great  change  has  come 
over  our  boy,"  said  the  weeping  mother;  "he  has 
only  been  a  little  ill  before,  but  it  seems  now  as  if 
he  were  dying  fast."  The  father  went  into  the  room, 
and  placed  his  hand  on  the  forehead  of  the  little  boy. 
He  could  see  the  boy  was  dying.  He  could  feel  the 
cold  damp  of  death.  "My  son,  do  3'ou  know  you 
are  dying  ?  "  "  No;  am  I ?  "  "  Yes;  you  are  dying." 
"  And  shall  I  die  to-day  ?  "  "  Yes,  my  boy,  you  can- 
not live  till  night."  "Well,  then,  I  shall  be  with 
Jesus  to-night,  v^on't  I,  father?"  "Yes,  my  son, 
you  will  spend  to-night  with  the  Saviour."  As  he 
turned  away,  the  little  fellow  saw  the  tears  trickling 
over  his  father's  cheeks.  "Don't  weep  for  me,  fa- 
ther," he  said;  "when  I  get  to  heaven  I  will  go  right 
straight  to  Jesus,  and  tell  Him  that  ever  since  I  can 
remember  you  have  tried  to  lead  me  to  Him." 

161.  HoME-siCKNEss  CuRED. — I  heard  of  a  Chris- 
tian who  did  not  succeed  in  his  work  as  well  as  he 


A^D    BEST    THOUGHTS.  157 

used  to,  and  he  got  Home-sick  and  wished  himself 
dead.  One  night  he  dreamed  that  he  had  died,  and 
was  carried  by  the  angels  to  the  eternal  city.  As 
he  went  along  the  crystal  iDavement,  he  met  a  man 
he  used  to  know,  and  they  went  down  the  golden 
streets  together.  All  at  once  he  noticed  every  one 
looking  in  the  same  direction,  and  saw  One  coming 
up  who  was  fairer  than  the  sons  of  men.  It  was 
his  blessed  Kedeemer.  As  the  chariot  came  oppo- 
site, He  came  forth,  and  beckoning  the  one  friend, 
placed  him  in  His  own  chariot-seat,  but  himself 
He  led  aside,  and  pointing  over  the  battlements  of 
heaven,  ''Look  over  yonder,"  He  said,  "what  do 
you  see?"  "It  seems  as  if  I  see  the  dark  earth  I 
have  come  from."  "  What  else ? "  "I  see  men  as 
if  they  were  blindfolded,  going  over  a  terrible  pre- 
cipice into  a  bottomless  pit."  "  Well,"  said  He,  "  will 
you  remain  up  here,  and  enjoy  those  mansions  that 
I  have  prepared,  or  go  back  to  yon  dark  earth,  and 
warn  these  men,  and  tell  them  about  Me  and  my 
kingdom,  and  the  rest  that  remaineth  for  the  peo- 
ple of  God  ?  "  That  man  never  wished  himself  dead 
again.  He  yearned  to  live  as  long  as  ever  he  could, 
to  tell  men  of  heaven  and  of  Christ. 

162.  A  Fool  in  His  Day. — There  is  not  a  man  in 
the  word  of  God  whose  name  shines  out  upon  the 
page  of  divine  history  who  was  eminent  in  God's 
service,  but  who  was  considered  the  greatest  fool  in 
his  day. 


158  ADDRESSES 

163.  Redemption. — A  friend  in  Ireland  once  met 
a  little  Irish  boy  who  had  caught  a  sparrow.  The 
poor  little  bird  was  trembling  in  his  hand,  and 
seemed  very  anxious  to  escape.  The  gentleman 
begged  the  boy  to  let  it  go,  as  the  bird  could 
not  do  him  any  good;  but  the  boy  said  he  would 
not,  for  he  had  chased  it  three  hours  before  he 
could  catch  it.  At  last  he  offered  to  buy  the  bird; 
the  boy  agreed  to  the  price,  and  it  was  paid.  Then 
the  gentleman  took  the  poor  little  thing  and  held  it 
out  on  his  hand.  The  boy  had  been  holding  it  very 
fast,  for  the  boy  was  stronger  than  the  bird,  just  as 
Satan  is  stronger  than  we,  and  there  it  sat  for  a 
time  scarcely  able  to  realize  the  fact  that  it  had  got 
liberty;  but,  in  a  little,  it  flew  away  chirping,  as  if 
to  say  to  the  gentleman,  "  Thank  you !  thank  you ! 
you  have  redeemed  me."  That  is  what  redemption 
is — buying  back  and  setting  free.  So  Christ  came 
to  break  the  fetters  of  sin,  to  open  the  prison  doors 
and  set  the  sinner  free.  This  is  the  good  news,  the 
Gospel  of  Christ — "Ye  are  not  redeemed  by  cor- 
ruptible things,  as  silver  and  gold,  but  with  the 
precious  blood  of  Christ." 

164.  Christ's  Crucifixion  the  Foundation. — When 
I  was  in  one  of  your  cities,  a  gentleman  came  to  me 
and  said,  "  If  you  are  right,  I  am  wrong;  and  if  I 
am  right,  you  are  wrong."  I  saw  he  was  a  minister, 
and  I  said,  "  Well,  I  never  heard  you  preach;  if  yoji 
have  heard  me  you  can  tell  what  the  difference  is 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  150 

Where  do  we  differ  ?  "  "  Well,  yon  preach  that  it  is 
the  death  of  Christ;  I  preach  His  life.  I  tell  people 
His  death  has  nothing  to  do  with  it;  you  tell  them 
His  life  has  nothing  to  do  with  their  salvation,  and 
that  His  death  only  will  save  them.  I  do  not  believe 
a  word  of  it."  "Well,"  I  said,  "what  do  you  do 
with  this  passage,  *  Who  His  own  self  bare  our  sins 
in  His  own  body  on  the  tree?'"  "Well,  I  never 
preached  on  that  text."  "  What  do  you  do  with 
this,  then,  *Ye  are  not  redeemed  with  corrupti- 
ble things  as  silver  and  gold,  but  with  the  pre- 
cious blood  of  Christ?'"  "I  never  preached  on 
that  text  either,"  was  the  reply.  "Well,  what  do 
you  do  with  this,  '  Without  shedding  of  blood  there 
is  no  remission  ? ' "  "I  never  spoke  on  that,"  he 
said.  "  What  do  you  do  with  this,  *  He  was  wound- 
ed for  our  transgressions.  He  was  bruised  for  our 
iniquities,  and  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was 
upon  Him?'"  "I  never  preached  on  that  either." 
"  What  do  you  preach,  then  ?  "  I  asked.  He  hesi- 
tated for  a  little,  and  then  said,  "I  preach  moral 
essays."  "  You  leave  out  the  atonement  ?  "  "  Yes." 
"Well,"  I  said,  "it  would  all  be  a  sham  to  me  if  I 
did  that;  I  could  not  understand  it.  I  would  be 
away  home  to-morrow.  I  would  not  know  what  to 
preach.  Moral  essays  on  Christ  without  his  death !  " 
The  young  man  said,  "  Well,  it  does  seem  a  sham 
sometimes."  He  was  honest  enough  to  confess  that. 
Why,  the  whole  thing  is  a  myth  without  the  atone- 
ment.    The  crucifixion  of  Christ  is  the  foundation  of 


160  ADDRESSES 

the  whole  matter.  If  a  man  is  unsound  on  the  blood, 
he  is  unsound  in  every  thing.  "  Without  shedding 
of  blood  is  no  remission." 

165.  Grace  Before  Judgment. — It  was  of  mercy 
and  grace  that  Adam  was  turned  out  of  Eden,  so 
that  he  could  not  eat  of  the  tree  of  life.  He  put  into 
the  hand  of  man  a  lamp  of  promise  to  light  him 
through  the  world. 

166.  Living  in  Doubting  Castle. — ^Why,  it  is  sal- 
vation by  doubts  nowadays  instead  of  by  faith ;  there 
are  so  few  that  dare  to  say,  "I  know  that  my  Re- 
deemer liveth,  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed." 

Make  sure  of  this  one  thing  if  you  are  not  sure  of 
any  thing  else.  It  is  better  that  you  fail  in  health 
or  in  business,  it  is  better  that  you  go  to  some  asy- 
lum, it  is  better  for  you  to  go  to  heaven  from  some 
poor-house  or  from  some  mad-house  than  to  go  to 
hell  in  a  gilded  chariot.  Make  sure  that  your  name 
is  written  in  heaven;  then  you  have  something  worth 
rejoicing  over. 

167.  The  Betrayal. — Let  us  imagine  we  are  living 
when  the  Son  of  God  was  upon  earth — that  we  were 
citizens  of  Jerusalem;  that  we  were  at  that  memo- 
rable feast;  that  late  one  Thursday  afternoon  we  are 
walking  down  the  street,  and  we  see  thirteen  men 
coming  down  the  street.  We  make  inquiries  w^ho 
they  are,  and  w^e  are  told:  It  is  Jesus  and  His  disci- 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  161 

pies.  Tliey  are  going  to  the  guest  chamber.  They 
come  to  a  common-looking  house;  they  go  up  stairs 
to  that  guest  chamber  and  sit  around  the  table.  He 
began  to  be  exceedingly  sorrowful;  he  knew  that 
one  of  His  disciples  was  that  night  to  swear  he 
never  knew  Him;  that  the  Shepherd  was  to  be  smit- 
ten, and  the  sheep  were  to  leave  Him.  He  was  sor- 
rowful unto  death.  John  was  wondering  what  was 
making  Him  so  sad.  At  last  he  told  them  that  one 
of  them  that  night  should  betray  him.  They  all 
looked  startled.  At  last  one  says:  Lord,  is  it  I? 
And  another  says :  is  it  I  ?  They  all  began  to  mis- 
trust themselves,  and  at  last  Judas,  that  awful  traitor 
who  was  already  plotting  with  the  chief  priests  to 
deliver  Him  up,  said:  Lord,  is  it  I?  Jesus  gave 
him  to  understand  that  it  was,  and  presently  He 
turned  and  said:  "What  thou  doest  do  quickly," 
and  he  got  up  and  left.  I  don't  beheve  you  could 
find  a  sadder  party  than  they  were.  Judas  had  seen 
Him  perform  His  mighty  miracles;  he  had  been  with 
Him  when  He  fed  the  multitude  in  the  wilderness; 
when  He  had  wept  over  Jerusalem;  been  associated 
with  Him  for  three  long  years,  and  now  he  gets  up 
and  goes  out.  It  was  night,  and  I  hear  him  as  he 
goes  down  those  stairs.  He  goes  off  to  the  Sanhe- 
drim, to  the  rulers  of  the  Jews.  He  says:  What 
will  you  give  me  ?  He  sold  Jesus  for  thirty  pieces 
of  silver.  How  cheap  he  sold  his  birthright.  You 
condemn  him,  but  how  many  of  you  are  selling  Him 
for  less.  A  lady,  last  night,  wanted  to  become  a 
11 


162  ADDRESSES 

Cliristian,  but  slie  coiilcl  not  give  up  the  ball  tliat 
was  soon  to  come  off;  she  would  sell  her  soul  for  a 
night  in  the  ball-room.  How  many  would  sell  Him 
for  a  night  in  some  drinking  saloon. 

168.  The  Devil's  Work. — If  you  will  read  your 
Bible  in  the  light  of  Calvary,  you  will  find  there  is 
no  other  w^a}^  of  coming  to  heaven  but  by  the  blood. 
The  devil  don't  fear  10,000  preachers  who  preach  a 
bloodless  religion.  A  man  who  preaches  a  bloodless 
religion  is  doing  the  devil's  work,  and  I  don't  care 
who  he  is. 

169.  Death  Loses  its  Sting  Then. — I  was  brought 
up  in  a  little  village  in  New  England.  It  was  the 
custom  there  when  a  person  was  buried  to  toll  out 
the  age  of  the  man  at  his  funeral.  Death  never  en- 
tered the  village  and  tore  away  one  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, but  I  always  used  to  count  the  tolling  of  the 
bell.  Sometimes  it  would  be  away  up  to  seventy, 
or  between  seventy  and  eighty — beyond  the  life  al- 
lotted to  man.  Sometimes  it  would  be  clear  down 
in  the  teens,  and  childhood,  and  death  would  take 
away  one  of  my  own  age.  It  used  to  make  a  sol- 
emn impression  on  me.  When  it  comes  to  death 
some  men  say,  "I  do  not  fear  it."  I  feared  it,  and 
felt  terribly  afraid,  w^hen  I  thought  of  the  cold  hand 
of  death  feeling  for  the  cords  of  life;  and  being 
launched  out  to  eternity,  to  go  to  an  unknown 
world.     I  used  to  have  terrible  thoughts  of  God; 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  163 

but  they  are  all  gone  now.  Death  has  lost  its  sting. 
And  as  I  go  on  through  the  world  I  can  shout  now, 
when  the  bell  is  tolling,  "  Oh,  death,  where  is  thy 
sting?"  And  I  hear  a  voice  come  rolling  down 
from  Calvary,  "Buried  in  the  bosom  of  the  Son  of 
God." 

170.  Sudden  Conversions. — There  are  some  peo- 
ple in  this  nineteenth  century  who  do  not  believe 
in  sudden  conversions.  I  should  like  them  to  tell 
me  where  Zaccheus  w^as  converted.  He  certainly 
was  not  converted  when  he  went  up  into  the  syc- 
amore tree;  he  certainly  was  converted  when  he 
came  down.  He  must  have  been  converted  some- 
where between  the  branches  and  the  ground.  I 
wish  we  had  a  few  men  converted  like  Zaccheus  in 
London;  it  would  make  no  small  stir.  When  a 
man  begins  to  make  restitution  it  is  a  pretty  good 
sign  of  conversion.  Zaccheus  gave  half  his  goods 
all  at  once;  and  he  says,  "If  I  have  taken  any  thing 
from  any  man  I  restore  him  fourfold."  I  imagine 
the  next  morning  one  of  the  servants  of  Zaccheus 
going  with  a  check  for  JglOO,  and  saying,  "My 
master,  a  few  years  ago,  took  from  you  wrongfully 
about  £25,  and  this  is  restitution  money.  That 
would  give  confidence  in  Zaccheus's  conversion. 

171.  The  Penitent  Thief. — The  first  we  know  of 
the  thief  on  the  cross  he  was  a  reviler  of  Christ. 
The  next  we  hear  of  him  he  appears  to  be  under 


164  ADDRESSES 

conviction.  One  of  the  malefactors  whicli  were 
hanged  railed  on  Him;  saying,  "If  Thou  be  the 
Christ  save  Thyself  and  ns."  But  the  other,  an- 
swering, rebuked  him,  saying,  "  Dost  thou  not  fear 
God  seeing  thou  art  in  the  same  condemnation  ? 
And  we  indeed  justly;  for  we  receive  the  due  re- 
ward of  our  deeds:  but  this  man  hath  done  nothing- 
amiss."  What  do  you  suppose  changed  this  man's 
feeliugs  in  these  few  hours?  I  think  it  was  the 
Saviour's  prayer — "Father,  forgive  them  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do." 

I  seem  to  hear  this  thief  talking  to  himself  in  this 
way.  "  What  a  strange  man  this  must  be !  He 
says  he  is  the  Son  of  God.  Why  does  not  God 
send  his  angels  and  destroy  all  this  crowd  of  people 
who  are  torturing  His  Son  ?  If  he  has  power  now, 
as  He  used  to  have  when  he  worked  those  miracles 
they  talk  about,  why  does  he  not  sweep  all  these 
wretches  to  destruction  ?  I  would  do  it  in  a  min- 
ute if  I  had  the  power.  But  this  man  prays  God 
to  forgive  them.  Strange !  Strange !  I  am  sorry 
I  said  a  word  against  him  when  they  hung  him  up 
here.  What  a  difference  there  is  between  him  and 
me. 

"Here  we  are  on  two  crosses,  side  by  side;  but  all 
the  rest  of  our  lives  we  have  been  far  enough  apart. 
I  have  been  robbing  and  murdering,  and  He  has 
been  visiting  the  hungiy,  healing  the  sick,  and  rais- 
ing the  dead.  I  will  not  rail  at  Him  any  more.  In- 
deed, I  begin  to  believe  He  must  be  the  Son  of  God; 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  1G5 

for  surely  no  son  of  man  could  forgive  liis  enemies 
tliis  wa3\" 

This  poor  man  had  been  scourged,  beaten,  nailed 
to  the  cross,  and  hung  up  there  for  the  world  to 
gaze  upon;  and  he  was  not  sorry  for  his  sins  one 
single  bit — but  when  he  heard  the  Saviour  praying 
for  His  murderers,  that  broke  his  heart. 

Aud  what  did  Jesus  say  in  answer  to  his  prayer. 
He  looks  kindly  upon  him  and  says,  "To-day  shalt 
thou  be  with  Me  in  Paradise."  He  got  more  than 
he  asked  for.  He  only  asked  to  be  remembeied, 
but  Christ  says  to  him,  "I  will  take  you  right  up 
into  my  kingdom  to-day."  No  doubt  Satan  said  to 
himself,  "I  will  have  the  soul  of  that  thief,  pretty 
soon,  down  here  in  the  caverns  of  the  lost.  He  be- 
longs to  me."  But  Christ  snapped  the  fetters  of  his 
soul  and  set  him  at  liberty.  Satan  lost  his  prey. 
What  a  contrast  1  In  the  morning  led  out  a  con- 
demned criminal;  in  the  evening  saved  from  his 
sins.  In  the  morning  cursing;  in  the  evening  sing- 
ing hallelujahs  with  a  choir  of  angels.  In  the  morn- 
ing condemned  by  men  as  not  fit  to  live  on  earth ; 
in  the  evening  reckoned  good  enough  for  heaven. 
Jesus  had  died  before  his  very  eyes,  and  hastened 
before  him  to  get  a  place  ready  for  this  first  soul 
brought  from  the  world  after  He  had  died. 

You  have  heard  of  the  child  who  did  not  like  to 
die  and  go  to  heaven,  because  he  did  not  know  any 
body  there.  But  the  thief  had  one  acquaintance: 
even  the  Master  of  the  place  Himself.     He  calls  to 


1G6  ADDRESSES 

Gabriel,  antl  says,  "Prepare  a  chariot;  there  is  a 
friend  of  iniiie  uxDon  that  cross.  They  are  breaking 
his  legs.  He  soon  will  be  ready  to  come.  IMake 
haste  and  bring  him  to  me."  And  the  angel  in  the 
chariot  sweeps  down  the  sky,  takes  np  the  soul  of 
the  poor  penitent  thief,  and  hastens  back  again  to 
glory;  while  the  gates  of  the  city  swing  wide  open, 
and  the  angels  shout  their  welcome  to  this  poor  sin- 
ner "washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb." 

172.  Hushed  Haeps. — They  never  knew  the  Son 
of  God  when  He  was  here.  He  would  hush  every 
harp  in  heaven  to  hear  a  sinner  j)ray;  no  music 
would  delight  Him  so  much. 

173.  The  Father's  Will. — I  remember  a  story  of 
a  bad  boy  who  ran  away  from  home.  He  had  re- 
fused all  the  invitations  which  his  father  had  sent 
him  to  come  home  and  be  forgiven,  and  help  to 
comfort  his  old  heart.  He  had  even  gone  so  far  as 
to  scoff  at  his  father  and  mother.  But  one  day  a 
letter  came  telhng  him  his  father  was  dead,  and 
they  wanted  him  to  come  home  and  attend  the 
funeral.  At  first  he  would  not  go,  but  then  he 
thought  it  would  be  a  shame  not  to  pay  some  little 
respect  to  the  memory  of  so  good  a  man  after  he 
was  dead;  and  so,  just  as  a  matter  of  form,  he  took 
the  train,  and  went  to  the  old  home,  sat  through  all 
the  funeral  services,  saw  his  father  buried,  and  came 
back  with  the  rest  of  the  friends  to  the  house,  with 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  167 

his  heart  as  cold  and  stony  as  ever.  But  wlien  the 
old  man's  will  was  brought  out,  the  ungrateful  son 
found  that  his  father  had  remembered  him  in  the 
will,  and  had  left  him  an  inheritance  with  the 
others,  who  had  not  gone  astray.  This  broke  his 
heart.  That  is  just  the  way  our  Father  in  Heaven 
does  with  sinners.  He  loves  them  in  s^Dite  of  their 
sins,  and  it  is  the  love  which,  more  than  any  thing 
else,  brings  hard-hearted  sinners  to  their  knees. 

174.  Confession  before  Conversion. — I  never  knew 
any  man  to  be  converted  till  he  confessed.  Cain  felt 
bad  enough  over  his  sins,  but  he  did  not  confess. 
Saul  was  greatly  tormented  in  his  mind,  but  he 
went  to  the  witch  of  Endor  rather  than  to  the  Lord. 
Judas  felt  so  bad  over  the  betrayal  of  his  Master, 
that  he  went  out  and  hanged  himself;  but  he  did 
not  confess — that  is,  he  did  not  confess  to  God.  He 
came  back  and  confessed  to  the  priests,  saying,  "I 
have  sinned  in  that  I  have  betrayed  the  innocent 
blood."  It  was  of  no  use  to  confess  to  them.  They 
could  not  forgive  him.  What  he  should  have  done 
was  to  confess  to  God;  but  instead  of  that,  he  went 
right  away  and  hanged  himself. 

175.  The  Story  of  Mephibosheth. — There  is  a 
story  of  a  man  by  the  name  of  Mephibosheth  which 
will  help  you  to  understand  the  Gosi^el.  You  re- 
member what  a  hard  time  David  had  when  Saul 
was  hunting  him  to  kill  him.     One  day  David  and 


1 QS  ADDRESSES 

his  friend  Jonatlian  were  taking  a  walk  in  the 
fields.  Saul  was  angry,  and  bent  on  killing  David; 
but  his  son  Jonathan  was  looking  out  fo^  a  chance 
to  save  him. 

After  they  had  agreed  upon  a  sign  by  which  Da- 
vid was  to  know  whether  it  was  safe  for  him  to  stay 
around  the  court  of  the  king,  or  whether  he  must 
leave,  Jonathan  says  to  him — 

"David,  you  are  to  be  king  after  my  father.  I 
want  you  to  promise  me  one  thing:  when  you  come 
to  the  throne,  if  any  of  the  house  of  Saul  are  alive, 
I  want  you  to  be  good  to  them,  for  my  sake." 

"I'll  do  that,  of  course,"  said  David.  About  four 
years  after  David  set  up  his  kingdom  at  Hebron. 

It  must  have  been  near  fourteen  years  after  that 
before  David  remembered  his  promise  to  his  old 
friend  Jonathan.  But  one  day  the  king  was  walk- 
ing in  his  palace  at  Jerusalem,  where  he  had  re- 
moved his  capital;  and  all  at  once  he  happened  to 
think  of  that  promise. 

"That's  too  bad!"  said  David.  "I  forgot  all 
about  that  promise.  I  have  been  so  busy  fighting 
these  Philistines,  and  fixing  things  up,  that  I  have 
not  had  time  to  think  of  any  thing  else."  So  he 
called  his  servants  in  great  haste,  and  said,  "Do 
any  of  you  know  whether  there  is  any  of  Saul's 
family  living  ?  "  One  of  them  said  there  was  an 
old  servant  of  Saul  by  the  name  of  Ziba  and  maybe 
he  could  tell.  "Go  and  tell  him  I  want  him,  right 
away." 


AND    BEST   THOUGHTS.  169 

Ziba  came;  and  David  said,  "Do  you  know  wheth- 
er there  is  any  body  of  the  house  of  Saul  in  my  king- 
-  dom  ?  "  Ziba  said  there  was  one  he  knew  of — a  son 
of  Jonathan,  by  the  name  of  Mephibosheth.  "  Go, 
fetch  him!"-  says  David;  "go  quick.  Tell  him  I 
want  to  show  him  the  kindness  of  God." 

Where  do  you  suppose  Mephibosheth  was  all  the 
time?  Down  at  Lo-debar.  That  is  where  all  the 
human  race  are  until  they  come  to  Christ;  away 
down  at  Lo-debar — which  means,  a  place  of  no  pas- 
ture. "When  they  reached  the  little  out  of  the  way 
place  I  fancy  there  was  a  great  commotion. 

"Where's  Mephibosheth?  The  king  wants  him." 
Poor  fellow !  when  he  heard  that  he  hung  his  head. 
He  was  afraid  the  king  wanted  to  kill  him  because 
he  was  of  the  house  of  his  old  enemy.  I  never 
knew  a  sinner  to  take  the  Gospel  right.  They  al- 
ways think,  at  first,  that  it  is  too  good  to  be  true. 

"  Don't  be  afraid,"  said  the  servants.  "  The  king 
says  he  wants  to  show  you  the  kindness  of  God. 
So  get  ready.  Don't  you  see  the  king  has  sent  his 
own  chariot  to  fetch  you  ?  " 

But  poor  Mephibosheth  had  another  difficulty. 
He  was  lame  in  both  feet.  He  was  a  little  fellow 
when  David  came  to  the  throne;  and  an  old  ser- 
vant, who  was  afraid  that  all  the  house  of  Saul 
were  going  to  be  killed,  took  him  up  and  ran  away 
to  hide  him.  Somehow  he  managed  to  drop  tha 
lad,  and  lamed  him  in  both  feet. 

And  now  I  can  see  poor  Mephibosheth  looking 


170  ADDRESSES 

down  at  liis  feet.  And  be  says  to  himself,  ''I  am 
not  fit  to  go  to  the  kiug.     I  am  a  iDoor  cripple." 

That's  just  the  way  with  a  convicted  sinner.  He 
is  all  the  time  thinldDg  of  his  own  unw^orthiness, 
and  sayiDg  to  himseK  that  he  isn't  fit  to  be  saved. 

"Never  mind  your  lame  feet,  Mephibosheth;  so 
long  as  the  king  sends  for  you,  it's  all  right."  So 
they  take  him  up,  and  put  him  into  the  chariot,  and 
start  for  Jerusalem. 

"When  the  king  sees  him,  he  takes  him  in  his 
arms,  and  cries  out — 

"Oh  Mephibosheth,  the  son  of  my  dear  old  friend 
Jonathan !  you  shall  have  all  that  belonged  to  the 
house  of  Saul;  and  you  shall  live  with  me  here  in 
my  palace !  " 

AVhat  a  happy  man  he  must  have  been  to  hear 
that!  Sinner,  that  is  just  what  God  says  to  the 
soul  that  comes  to  him  in  Jesus  Christ.  He  takes 
lis  in  His  arms;  He  gives  us  a  great  fortune  of  love 
and  grace;  and  He  promises  that  w^e  shall  live  with 
Him  in  His  heavenly  palace  forever. 

Some  people  think  that  Mephibosheth,  like  cer- 
tain low-spirited  Christians,  after  he  went  to  live 
with  the  king,  must  have  been  all  the  time  worry- 
ing over  his  lame  feet.  But  I  don't  think  so.  He 
couldn't  help  it;  and  if  David  didn't  mind  it,  it  was 
all  right.  So  I  think  that  when  he  dined  with  him 
in  state,  with  the  great  lords  and  ladies  all  around 
him,  he  just  stuck  his  club-feet  under  the  table,  and 
looked  the  king  right  in  the  face. 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  171 

176.  At  The  Head  ! — "We  have  heard  a  great  deal 
about  the  faith  of  Abraham,  and  the  faith  of  Moses; 
but  the  thief  on  the  cross  seems  to  me  to  have  had 
more  faith  than  any  of  them.  He  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  class.  God  was  twenty-five  years  ton- 
ing up  the  faith  of  Abraham;  Moses  was  forty  years 
getting  ready  for  his  work;  but  this  thief,  right 
here  in  the  midst  of  men  who  rejected  Him — nailed 
to  the  cross,  and  racked  with  pain  in  every  nerve, 
overwhelmed  with  horror,  and  his  soul  in  a  perfect 
tempest — still  manages  to  lay  hold  upon  Christ, 
and  trust  in  Him  for  a  swift  salvation. 

177.  Free. — In  the  British  Colonies,  before  the 
time  of  Wilberforce,  there  used  to  be  a  great  many 
slaves;  but  that  good  man  began  to  agitate  the  ques- 
tion of  setting  them  free  ;  and  all  the  slaves  in  the 
colonies  were  anxious  to  know  how  he  was  getting 
aloDg.  But  in  those  days  there  were  no  telegraphs 
and  no  steamships.  The  mails  went  by  the  slow 
sailing  vessels.  They  would  be  from  six  to  eight 
months  in  making  a  voyage  to  some  of  the  colonies. 
The  slaves  used  to  watch  for  the  British  ships,  hop- 
ing to  hear  good  news,  but  fearing  they  might  hear 
bad  ones.  There  was  a  ship  which  had  sailed  im- 
mediately after  the  Emancipation  Act  had  been 
passed  and  signed  by  the  king;  and  when  she  came 
within  hailing  distance  of  the  boats  which  had  put 
off  from  the  shore  at  the  port  where  she  was  bound, 
the  captain  could  not  wait  to  deliver  the  message 


172  ADDRESSES 

officially,  and  have  it  duly  promulgated  by  the  gov- 
ernnient;  but,  seeing  the  poor  anxious  men  standing 
up  in  their  boats,  eager  for  the  news,  he  placed  his 
trumpet  to  his  mouth,  and  shouted  with  all  his 
might,  "Free!  free!"  Just  so  the  angels  shout 
when  a  poor  bondman  is  taken  in  hand  by  the 
Saviour  Himself ;  delivered  from  the  bondage  of 
darkness,  into  the  liberty  of  His  dear  Son  ;  free — 
free  from  sin — free  from  the  curse  of  the  law. 

178.  The  First  not  the  Eleventh  Hour. — Some- 
body has  said  "  the  thief  on  the  cross  was  saved  at 
the  eleventh  hour."  I  don't  know  about  that.  Per- 
haps it  was  the  first  hour.  It  might  have  been  the 
first  hour  with  him,  I  think.  Perhaps  he  never 
knew  Christ  until  he  was  led  out  to  die  beside  Him. 
This  may  have  been  the  very  first  time  he  had  ever 
learned  the  way  of  faith  in  the  Son  of  God. 

179.  The  Story  of  Barabbas. — What  a  night  Ba- 
rabbas  spent  just  before  the  day  Christ  was  cruci- 
fied !  As  the  sun  goes  down  he  says  to  himself:  "  To- 
morrow ! — only  to-morrow !  They  will  hang  me  and 
in  that  awful  torture  I  must  die ! " 

Maybe  they  let  his  mother,  or  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, come  and  see  him  for  the  last  time.  He 
couldn't  sleep  that  night.  He  heard  them  ham- 
mering in  the  prison  yard  and  knew  they  were 
making  the  cross.  At  last  the  light  of  morning 
"breaks   through   the  prison  bars.     "To-day  —  this 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS. 


173 


very  clay — they  will  open  tliat  door  and  lead  me 
away  to  be  crucified ! " 

Pretty  soon  the  door  swings  open  ;  there  are  the 
soldiers.  Good-by  to  hfe  and  hope!  Death,  hor- 
rible death  now !— and  after  death,  what  then  ?  The 
officer  of  the  guard  speaks  to  him:  "Barabbas  you 
are  free." 

He  hears  the  strange  words  but  they  make  little 
impression  on  him.  He  is  so  near  dead  with  fear 
and  horror,  that  the  good  news  doesn't  reach  him. 
He  stands  gazing  a  moment  at  the  soldiers,  and 
then  he  comes  to  himself. 

"Don't  laugh  at  me!  don't  make  sport  of  me! 
Take  me  away  and  crucify  me  ;  but  don't  tear  my 
soul  to  pieces !  " 

Again  the  officer  speaks:  "You  are  free!  Here— 
the  door  is  open:  go  out;  go  home." 

It  is  so  w^onderful  to  get  out  of  the  clutches  of  the 
Eoman  law,  that  he  is  afraid  to  beheve  the  good 
news.     And  so  he  begins  to  ask  how  it  can  be. 

They  tell  him  that  Pilate  has  i^romised  the  Jews 
the  release  of  one  prisoner  that  day  ;  and  that  the 
Jews  have  chosen  him  instead  of  one  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth, who  was  condemned  to  be  crucified. 

Now  the  poor  man  begins  to  weep.  This  breaks 
his  heart.  He  knows  this  Jesus.  He  has  seen  Him 
do  some  of  His  miracles.  He  was  in  the  crowd  pick- 
ing pockets  when  Jesus  fed  the  five  thousand  hun- 
gry people. 

"What!  that  just  man  to  die— and  I,  a  thief,  a 


174  ADDRESSES 

liigliwfiyman,  a  mnrderer,  to  go  free!"  And  in  the 
midst  of  his  joy  at  his  own  release,  his  heart  breaks 
at  the  thought  that  his  hfe  is  saved  at  such  a  cost. 

Sinner,  that  is  the  Gospeh  Come  out  of  your 
prison ;  throw  off  the  chains  of  sin.  You  were  justly 
condemned,  but  Jesus  died  for  you.  Let  your  heart 
break  in  penitence;  weep  tears  of  love  and  joy. 

180.  Elijah  and  the  Priests  of  Baal. — Let  us  go 
to  Carmel. 

King  Ahab  had  forsaken  the  God  of  Israel,  and 
all  the  court'had  followed  his  example. 

But  there  was  an  old  prophet  out  in  the  moun- 
tains, to  whom  God  said:  "Go  to  Ahab,  and  tell 
him  the  heavens  shall  be  shut  up  and  there  shall  be 
no  rain." 

Away  he  goes  to  the  wicked  king.  He  bursts  in 
upon  him  like  a  clap  of  thunder,  gives  his  message, 
aDd  hurries  away.  I  suppose  Ahab  laughed  at  the 
old  prophet.  "  Whtxi  !  no  more  rain  ?  The  fellow 
must  be  crazy !  " 

Pretty  soon  the  weather  gets  very  dry.  The  earth 
is  parched,  the  trees  die,  the  gTass  perishes,  and  the 
cattle  die.     Famine;  starvation;  death! 

One  day  the  king  was  talking  with  the  prophet 
Obadiah.  You  see  he  did  have  one  good  man  with 
him  along  with  all  the  prophets  of  the  false  God. 

"See  here,  Obadiah,"  says  Ahab;  "3'ou  go  one 
way  and  I'll  go  another  and  see  if  we  cannot  find 
water." 


AND    BEST    TUOUGHTS.  175 

9 


Obacliali  met  Elijah.     "O,  Elijali!  is  that  you 
Ahab  has  been  hniitiug  for  you  every  where." 

"Yes,  I'm  here,"  says  Elijah.  "You  go  and  tell 
Ahab  I  want  to  see  him."  ^ 

So  Obadiah  hurries  off  and  tells  Ahab  he  has  seen 
the  prophet. 

"What!     Elijah?" 

"Yes." 

"  Why  didn't  you  bring  him  along  ?  " 

"  He  wouldn't  come.  He  says  he  wants  you  to 
come  to  him." 

Ahab  wasn't  used  to  having  people  talk  to  him 
in  that  way,  but  he  was  anxious  to  see  the  prophet, 
so  he  went.  And  when  he  sees  him  he  is  very  angry, 
and  cries,  ''Art  thou  he  that  troubleth  Israel?" 

"Not  at  all,"  says  Elijah.  "You  are  the  man 
that  is  troubling  Israel— going  off  after  Baal,  and 
leading  ever  so  many  of  the  people  with  you.  Now, 
we  have  had  enough  of  this  sort  of  thing.  Some 
peoi3le  are  -praying  to  God,  and  some  are  praying 
to  Baal,  and  we  must  have  this  question  settled. 
You  just  bring  all  your  prophets  and  all  the  priests 
of  Baal  up  to  Mount  Carmel,  and  I  also  will  come. 
We  will  make  us  each  an  altar,  and  offer  sacrifice 
on  it;  and  the  God  that  answereth  by  fire,  let  Him 
be  God." 

"Agreed,"  says  Ahab. 

All  the  places  of  business  were  closed,  and  every- 
body w^as  going  up  to  Mount  Carmel. 

There  were  eight  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  proph- 


17()  ADDRESSES 

ets  and  priests  of  Baal.  I  fancy  I  can  see  tliem 
going  up  in  a  grand  procession,  with  the  king  in 
his  chariot  at  their  head. 

But  EHjah  marched,  all  alone:  a  rough  man,  clad 
in  the  skins  of  beasts,  with  a  staff  in  his  hand.  No 
banners,  no  procession,  no  gi'eat  men  in  his  train ! 
But  the  man  who  could  hold  the  keys  of  heaven  for 
three  years  and  six  months  was  not  afraid  to  be 
alone. 

Now  says  Elijah  to  the  people,  "  How  long  halt 
ye  between  two  opinions  ?  Let  the  priests  of  Baal 
build  them  an  altar  and  offer  sacrifice,  but  put  no 
fire  under;  and  I  will  do  the  same:  and  the  God 
that  answereth  by  fire,  let  Him  be  God." 

So  the  priests  of  Baal  build  their  altar. 

I  am  sure  if  God  hadn't  held  him  back,  Satan 
would  have  brought  up  a  little  spark  out  of  hell  to 
set  that  sacrifice  on  fire.    But  God  wouldn't  let  him. 

Then  they  begin  to  pray:  "  Oh  Baal,  hear  us !  Oh 
Baal,  hear  us !  " 

"You  must  i)ray  louder  than  that,  if  you  expect 
Baal  to  hear  you,"  says  the  old  prophet.  "  Maybe 
he  is  asleep:  pray  louder,  so  as  to  wake  him  up." 

Poor  fellows!  they  haven't  any  voice  left;  so  they 
begin  to  pra}^  in  blood.  They  cut  themselves  with 
knives,  and  lift  their  streaming  hands  and  arms  to 
Baal.     But  no  fire  comes  down. 

It  is  getting  towards  sundown. 

The  prophet  of  the  Lord  builds  an  altar.  Mind; 
he  doesn't  have  any  thing  to  do  with  the  altar  of 


AND   BEST   THOUGHTS.  177 

Baal,  but  builds  an  entirely  different  one,  on  tlie 
ruins  of  the  altar  of  tlie  Lord  wbicli  had  been  bro- 
ken down. 

"  We  won't  have  any  body  saying  there  is  any 
trick  about  this  thing,"  says  the  prophet.  So  they 
bring  twelve  barrels  of  water  and  pour  over  the 
altar.  I  don't  know  how  they  managed  to  get  so 
much  water;  but  they  did  it. 

Then  Elijah  prays:  "Oh  God  of  Abraham  and  of 
Isaac  and  of  Jacob,  let  it  be  known  this  day  that 
Thou  art  God  in  Israel." 

God  heard  him  at  once,  and — doioji  came  the  fire  !  ! 
It  burnt  up  the  sacrifice,  the  wood,  the  water,  and 
the  very  stones  of  the  altar.  Jehovah  is  God:  no- 
body can  halt  any  longer. 

Ah  !  but  some  of  you  say,  "  I  too  would  have  de- 
cided for  G6d  if  I  had  been  on  Mount  Carmel  that 
day."  My  friends.  Calvary  is  a  great  deal  more  won- 
derful than  Carmel.  The  sacrifice  of  Christ  on  the 
cross  is  more  wonderful  than  the  sacrifice  which  was 
burned  on  that  altar. 

181.  The  Widow's  Son. — Think  of  that  poor  widow 
at  Nain  !  She  is  old,  now;  and  her  only  son,  who  is 
the  staff  of  her  life,  is  sick.  How  she  watches  him ; 
sits  up  all  night  to  see  that  he  has  his  medicine  at 
the  right  time;  by  his  bedside  all  day,  fanning  him 
and  moistening  his  parched  lips  with  water.  The 
best  doctor  in  Nain  is  sent  for.  He  comes  and  feels 
the  young  man's  pulse,  and  shakes  his  head,  and  the 
12 


178  ADDRESSES 

widow  knows  there  is  no  hope  for  her  boy.  In  a  lit- 
tle while  the  fever  comes  to  its  crisis  and  the  poor 
boy  dies  with  his  head  upon  his  mother's  bosom. 
The  people  come  and  try  to  comfort  the  poor  wom- 
an, but  it  is  no  nse.     Her  heart  is  broken. 

AVell:  they  make  him  ready  for  the  burial;  they 
celebrate  his  funeral  service,  and  put  him  on  the 
bier  to  carry  him  to  his  grave.  "What  a  sad  proces- 
sion !  as  they  come  out  of  the  city  gates  they  see 
thirteen  dusty-looking  travellers,  coming  up  the 
road.  There  is  One  among  them,  tall  and  far  fairer 
than  the  sons  of  men.  "Who  can  He  be?  He  is 
moved  with  compassion  when  He  sees  this  little 
funeral  procession;  and  it  does  not  take  Him  long 
to  find  out  that  that  woman  who  walks  next  the  bier 
is  a  poor  widow,  whose  only  son  she  is  following  to 
his  grave.  He  tells  the  bearers  to  put  down  the  bier; 
and  while  the  mother  wonders  what  is  to  be  done, 
He  bends  tenderly  over  the  dead  man,  and  speaks 
to  him  in  a  low,  sweet  voice,  "  Arise !  "  And  the 
dead  man  hears  Him.  His  body  begins  to  move: 
the  man  who  was  dead  is  struggling  with  his  grave- 
clothes;  they  unbind  them,  and  now  he  sits  up.  He 
leajDs  off  the  bier,  catches  a  sight  of  his  mother,  re- 
members that  he  was  dead  and  is  now  alive  again ; 
takes  her  in  his  arms,  kisses  her  again  and  again, 
and  then  turns  to  look  at  the  Stranger  who  has 
wrought  this  miracle  upon  him.  He  is  ready  to  do 
any  thing  for  that  Man — ready  to  follow  Him  to  the 
death.     But  Jesus  does  not  ask  that  of  him.     He 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  ^         179 

knows  his  mother  needs  bim;  find  so  He  does  not 
take  him  away  to  be  one  of  His  disciples,  but  gives 
him  back  to  his  old  mother. 

1  I  would  have  liked  to  see  that  young  man  re-en- 
tering the  city  of  Nain,  arm-in-arm  with  his  mother. 
What  do  you  suppose  he  said  to  the  people,  vfho 
looked  at  him  with  wonder?  Would  he  not  confess 
that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  had  raised  him  from  the 
dead?  Would  he  not  go  everywhere,  declaring 
what  the  Lord  had  done  for  his  dead  body?  Oh 
how  I  love  to  preach  Christ,  who  can  stand  over  all 
the  graves,  and  say  to  all  the  dead  bodies,  "Arise! " 

182.  The  Story  of  Naaman. — I  have  been  reading 
to  you  about  a  man  whom  the  king  delighted  to  hon- 
or. He  was  captain  of  the  hosts  of  Syria;  hut  he  loaa 
a  leper;  and  that  threw  a  blight  over  his  whole  life. 
There  was  no  physician  to  help  him  in  all  Syria. 
None  of  the  eminent  doctors  in  Damascus  could  do 
him  any  good.  Neither  could  any  in  Jerusalem. 
But  I  will  tell  you  what  they  had  in  Syria:  they 
had  one  of  God's  children  there — and  she  was  a  lit- 
tle girl.  Naaman  knew  nothing  about  her,  though 
sliB  was  one  of  his  household.  At  last  some  one 
told  the  king  of  Syria  that  the  little  Israelitish  maid 
had  said  that  there  was  a  prophet  in  her  country 
who  could  cure  the  leprosy.  Now  Naaman  stood 
high  in  the  king's  favor,  for  he  had  just  won  a  great 
victory.  So  the  king  said,  "  you  had  better  go  down 
to  Samaria,  and  see  if  there  is  any  thing  in  it,  and  I 


180  ADDRESSES 

-will  give  you  letters  of  introduction  to  tlie  king. 
Awa}^  goes  Naaman  down  to  Samaria  witli  his  letter 
of  introduction,  and  he  takes  with  him  a  bag  of  gold 
and  silver.  And  he  took  about  £100,000  sterling, 
to  pay  this  doctor's  bill.  There  are  a  good  many 
men  who  would  willingly  pay  that  sum,  if  with  it 
they  could  buy  the  favor  of  God,  and  get  rid  of  the 
curse  of  sin.  Naaman  had  a  letter  of  introduction 
from  the  king  himself,  and  of  course  he  would  be 
received  with  high  honors.  But  instead  of  the  king 
rushing  out  to  meet  him,  when  he  heard  of  Naa- 
man's  arrival  and  his  object,  he  rent  his  mantle  in  a 
rage,  and  said:  "Am  I  a  God,  that  I  can  kill  and 
make  alive  ?  "  But  at  last  the  king  bethinks  himself 
of  Elisha  the  prophet;  and  he  says,  "  There  is  a  man 
in  my  kingdom  who  may  be  able  to  help  you  and 
cure  you."  So  Naaman  drives  up  in  grand  style  to 
the  prophet's  house  and  sends  in  his  message,  "  Tell 
the  prophet  Major  General  Naaman,  of  Syria,  has 
arrived  and  wishes  to  see  him."  Elisha  takes  it 
coolly.  He  does  not  come  out  to  see  him;  but  as 
soon  as  he  learns  his  errand,  sends  his  servant  to 
say !  "  Dip  seven  times  in  Jordan,  and  you  shall  be 
clean."     What  a  blow  to  his  pride ! 

I  can  imagine  him  saying  to  his  servant,  "AVhat! 
Dip  seven  times  in  Jordan !  We  call  the  Jordan  a 
ditch  in  our  country !  " 

I  can  fancy  his  indignation  as  he  asks — "  Are  not 
Abana  and  Pharpar,  rivers  of  Damascus,  better 
than  all  the  waters  of  Israel  ?     May  I  not  wash  in 


AND   BEST   THOUGHTS.  181 

them  and  be  clean  ?  "  So  lie  turned  and  went  away 
in  a  rage.  Jordan  never  had  any  reputation  as  a 
river.  Its  banks  were  not  half  so  beautiful  as  those 
of  the  rivers  of  Damascus.  Yes,  it  was  a  dreadful 
blow  to  his  pride  !  Damascus  was  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  cities  in  the  world;  and  it  is  said  that  when 
Mahomet  first  saw  it,,  he  turned  his  head  away,  for 
iear  it  should  lead  his  thoughts  away  from  heaven. 

Naaman  went  off  in  a  rage.  But  I  don't  think 
much  of  that;  for  when  a  man  turns  away  in  anger 
ke  generally  cools  down  and  comes  back  again. 

Whilst  Naaman  was  thinking  what  was  best  to  be 
done,  one  of  his  servants  came  and  said — "  My  lord, 
if  the  prophet  had  bid  thee  do  some  great  thing, 
wouldst  thou  not  have  done  it  ?  how  much  rather, 
tlien,  v>hen  he  saith  to  thee,  Wash  and  be  clean!" 
Why,  if  Elisha  had  said  to  him,  "  Go  back  to  Syria 
on  your  hands  and  knees,"  he  would  most  likely 
have  done  it.  If  he  had  said,  "  Go  back  all  the  way 
on  one  foot,"  he  would  have  tried  to  do  it.  Or  if  he 
had  said,  "  Give  me  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  for 
the  medicine  I  prescribe,  and  thou  shalt  be  cleansed," 
no  dovibt  he  would  have  done  it.  But  to  tell  him 
merely  to  dip  in  the  river  Jordan  seven  times. 
"  Well,"  says  the  servant,  "  you  have  come  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles;  and  now  don't  you  think  you 
had  better  do  what  he  tells  you  ?  " 

His  anger  is  cooling  down;  and  he  says,  "Well,  I 
think  I  might  as  well  try  it."  That's  the  starting- 
point  of  his  faith. 


182  ADDRESSES 

Naaman's  will  was  conquered  at  last.  So  he  goes 
down  to  the  river  and  takes  the  first  dip ;  and  as  he 
comes  np,  I  can  imagine  him  looking  at  himself, 
and  saying  to  his  servant,  "  There !  I  am  no  better 
than  I  was  when  I  went  in."  Down  he  goes  a  sec- 
ond time,  and  he  comes  up  as  much  a  leper  as  ever; 
and  so  he  goes  down  again  and  again,  the  third  and 
fourth  and  fifth  time,  with  the  same  result — as  much 
a  leper  as  ever.  When  he  comes  up  the  sixth  time, 
he  looks  at  himself,  and  says,  "Ah!  no  better. 
What  a  fool  I  have  made  of  myself !  I  wouldn't 
have  the  generals  and  aristocracy  of  Darnascus  know 
that  I  have  been  dipping  in  this  way  in  Jordan  for 
all  the  world.  However,  as  I  have  gone  so  far,  Til 
make  the  seventh  plunge."  He  has  not  altogether 
lost  faith;  and  down  he  goes  the  seventh  time,  and 
up  he  comes  again.  He  looks  at  himself,  and  shouts 
aloud  for  joy.  "  Lo,  I  am  well !  My  leprosy  is  all 
gone — all  gone !  My  flesh  has  come  again  as  that 
of  a  little  child.  I  never  knew  such  a  thing.  Thank 
God!  praise  God!  I  am  the  happiest  man  alive." 
So  he  comes  up  out  of  Jordan  and  puts  on  his 
clothes,  and  goes  back  to  the  prophet,  and  wants  to 
pay  him. 

That's  just  the  old  story:  Naaman  wants  to  give 
money  for  his  cure.  Hov/  many  people  want  to  do 
the  same  nowadays!  Why,  it  would  have  spoiled 
the  story  of  grace,  if  the  prophet  had  taken  any 
thing!  You  may  give  a  thank-offering  to  God's 
cause,  not  because  you  can  be  saved,  but  because 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  183 

you  are  saved.  But  the  prophet  refused  to  take 
any  thing;  and  I  can  imag-iue  no  one  felt  more  re- 
joiced than  EHsha  did.  So  Naainan  starts  back  to 
Damascus,  a  very  different  man  than  he  was  when 
he  left  it.  He  lost  the  leprosy  in  Jordan  when  he 
did  what  the  man  of  God  told  him;  and  if  you  obey 
the  voice  of  God,  the  burden  of  your  sins  will  fall 
from  off  you,  and  you  shall  be  cleansed.  It  is  all 
done  by  the  power  of  faith. 

183.  The  Message  not  the  Messengek. — A  good 
many  people  say,  "Oh,  I  don't  like  such  and  such  a 
minister;  I  should  like  to  know  where  he  comes 
fi'om,  and  what  he  has  done,  and  w^hether  an}^  bish- 
op has  ever  laid  his  hands  on  his  head."  My  dear 
friends,  never  mind  the  minister;  it's  the  message 
you  want.  Why,  if  some  one  were  to  send  me  a 
message,  and  the  news  were  important,  I  shouldn't 
stop  to  ask  about  the  messenger  who  brought  it;  I 
should  want  to  read  the  news;  I  should  look  at  the 
letter  and  its  contents,  and  not  at  the  boy  who 
brought  it.  And  so  it  is  with  God's  message.  The 
good  news  is  every  thing,  the  minister  nothing. 
Why,  if  I  got  lost  in  London,  I  should  be  willing  to 
ask  any  body  v/hich  way  to  go — even  if  it  w^ere  only 
a  poor  shoeblack.  It  is  the  way  I  want,  not  the 
person  who  directs  me. 

184.  They  Shall  shine  as  the  Stars. — We  all 
want  to  shine;  the  mother  wishes  it  for  her  boy, 


184  ADDRESSES 

when  she  sends  him  to  school;  the  father  for  his 
lad,  when  he  goes  off  to  college.  God  tells  us  who 
are  to  shine — not  statesmen,  nor  warriors,  nor  such 
like,  that  shine  but  for  a  season — but  such  as  will 
shine  forever  and  ever;  those,  namely,  who  win  souls 
to  Christ;  the  little  boy  even  who  persuades  one  to 
come  to  Christ. 

185.  Cheistians  Watched. — The  unbelieving  world, 
and  sceptics  holding  out  their  false  hghts,  are  watch- 
ing you  and  me.  When  Jacob  put  away  his  idols, 
he  could  go  up  to  Bethel  and  get  strength  and  the 
blessing — so  will  it  be  with  the  Church  of  God.  A 
viper  fixes  upon  the  hand  of  the  shipwrecked  Paul; 
immediately  he  is  judged  by  the  barbarians  some 
criminal  unfit  to  live;  but  he  shakes  it  off  into  the 
fire,  and  suffers  no  harm,  and  now  they  are  ready  to 
worship  him,  and  ready  too  to  hear  and  receive  his 
message:  the  Church  of  God  must  shake  off  the 
vipers  that  have  fastened  on  hand  and  heart  too, 
ere  men  will  hear.  Where  one  ungodly  man  reads 
the  Bible,  a  hundred  read  you  and  me :  and  if  they 
find  nothing  in  us,  they  set  the  whole  thing  aside  as 
a  myth. 

186.  Unconcern  under  Eesponsibility. — I  remem- 
ber, one  afternoon  I  was  preaching,  observing  a 
young  lady  from  the  house  I  was  staying  at,  in  the 
audience.  I  had  heard  she  taught  in  the  Sabbath- 
school,  which  I  knew  was  at  the  same  hour;  and  so 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.        "  185 

I  asked  her,  after  service,  liow  she  came  to  be  there  ? 
"  Oh,"  said  she,  "  my  class  is  but  five  little  boys,  and 
I  thought  it  did  not  matter  for  them."  And  yet 
among-  these  there  might  have  been,  who  knows,  a 
Luther  or  a  Knox,  the  beginning  of  a  stream  ot 
blessing,  that  v/ould  have  gone  on  widening  and 
ever  widening;  and  besides,  one  soul  is  worth  all 
the  kingdoms  of  the  earth. 

187.  The  Atoning  Blood. — If  you  cut  the  crimson 
thread  that  binds  the  Bible,  it  falls  to  pieces. 

188.  Humility  in  Christian  Effort.  —  A  young 
lady  was  sent  to  a  boarding-school,  and  was  there 
led  to  Christ;  not  only  so,  but  taught  that  she  ought 
to  work  for  Him.  By  and  by  she  goes  home,  and 
now  she  seeks,  in  one  way  and  another,  to  work 
for  Him,  but  without  finding  how.  She  asks  for  a 
class  in  her  church  Sunday-school,  but  the  suxDerin- 
tendent  has  already  more  than  enough  of  teachers. 
One  day,  going  along  the  street,  she  sees  a  little 
boy  struck  by  his  companion,  and  crying  bitterly. 
She  asks  him  what  the  trouble  is  ?  The  boy  thinks 
she  is  mocking  him,  and  rephes  sullenly.  She  speaks 
kindly,  tries  to  persuade  him  to  school.  He  does 
not  want  to  learn.  She  coaxes  him  to  come  and 
hear  her  and  the  rest  smging  there;  and  so  next 
Sunday  he  comes  with  her.  She  gets  a  corner  in 
the  school  of  well-dressed  scholars  for  herseK  and 
her  charge.    He  sits  and  listens,  full  of  wonder.    On 


I8(j  *  ADDRESSES 

going  home,  lie  tells  his  motlier  lie  lias  been  among 
the  angels.  At  first,  at  a  loss,  she  becomes  angry, 
when  a  question  or  two  brings  out  that  he  has  been 
to  a  Protestant  Sunday-school;  and  the  father,  on 
.coming  home,  forbids  his  going  back,  on  pain  of 
flogging.  Next  Sunday,  however,  he  goes,  and  is 
flogged,  and  so  again,  and  yet  again,  till,  one  Sun- 
day, he  begs  to  be  flogged  before  going,  that  he 
may  not  he  kept  thinking  of  it  all  the  time.  The 
father  relents  a  little  and  promises  him  a  holiday 
every  Saturday  afternoon,  if  he  will  not  go  to  Sun- 
day-school. The  lad  agrees,  sees  his  teacher,  who 
offers  to  teach  him  then.  How  many  wealthy  young 
folks  would  give  up  their  Saturdays  to  train  one  poor 
ragged  urchin  in  the  way  of  salvation  ?  Some  time 
after,  at  his  work,  the  lad  is  on  one  of  the  railway 
cars.  The  train  starts  suddenly;  he  slips  through, 
and  the  wheels  pass  over  his  legs;  he  asks  the  doc- 
tor if  he  will  live  to  get  home  ;  it  is  impossible. 
"Then,"  says  he,  "tell  father  and  mother  that  I 
am  going  to  heaven  and  want  to  meet  them  there." 
Will  the  work  she  did  seem  little,  now,  to  the  young 
lady  ?  Or  is  it  nothing  that  even  one  thus  grateful 
waits  her  yonder  ? 

189.  Cheekfulness  an  Atte  action  of  Piety. — A 
London  minister,  lately  pointed  out  a  family  of 
seven,  all  of  whom  he  was  just  receiving  into  the 
Church.  Their  story  was  this;  going  to  church,  he 
had  to  pass  by  a  window,  looking  up  at  which  one 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  187 

day,  lie  saw  a  baby  looking  out;  he  smiled — the 
baby  smiled.  Next  time  he  passes  he  looks  up 
again,  smiles,  and  the  baby  smiles  back.  A  third 
time  going  by,  he  looks  up,  and  seeing  the  baby, 
throws  it  a  kiss — which  the  baby  returns  to  liim. 
Time  after  time  he  has  to  pass  the  window,  and  now 
cannot  refrain  from  looking  up  each  time :  and  each 
time  there  are  more  faces  to  receive  his  smiling 
greeting;  till  by  and  by  he  sees  the  whole  family 
grouped  at  the  window — father,  mother,  and  all. 
The  father  conjectures  the  happy,  smiling  stranger 
must  be  a  minister,  and  so,  next  Sunday  morning, 
after  they  have  received  at  the  window  the  usual 
greeting,  two  of  the  children,  ready  dressed,  are 
sent  out  to  follow  him;  they  enter  his  church,  hear 
him  preach,  and  carry  back  to  their  parents  the  re- 
port that  they  never  heard  such  preaching.  Soon 
the  rest  come  to  the  church,  too,  and  are  brought 
in — all  by  a  smile.  Let  us  not  go  about  hanging 
our  heads  like  a  bulrush;  if  Christ  gives  us  joy,  let 
us  live  it ! 

190.  Enthusiasm. — We  need  more  enthusiasm. 
The  more  we  have  the  better.  I  have  a  great  ad- 
miration for  Garibaldi,  though  I  cannot,  of  course, 
approve  of  all  his  acts.  When  put  in  prison  he 
said,  "It  were  better  that  fifty  Garibaldis  should 
perish,  than  that  Eome  should  not  be  free."  This 
was  the  cause  getting  above  the  man:  that  is  what 
we  want.     We   want   to   forget   ourselves.     There 


188  ADDRESSES 

are  one  hundred  thousand  men  waiting  now  to  be 
brought  to  Christ,  to  be  invited  to  come  to  Him, 
and  shall  we  haug  back  ? 

191.  Looking  Unto  Jesus. — When  I  was  a  boy, 
I  used  to  try  to  describe  a  straight  path  through 
the  snow  in  the  fields  by  looking  down  at  my  feet. 
The  way  to  make  a  straight  path  would  be  to  look 
at  an  object  beyond;  so  in  this  passage  we  are  di- 
rected to  have  our  eyes  on  the  mark  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Master. 

192.  Obedience. — I  remember  reading  in  some 
history  of  the  ninth  century  of  a  young  general 
who  with  only  five  hundred  men  came  up  against 
a  king  with  twenty  thousand.  And  the  king  sent 
to  him  to  say  that  it  was  the  height  of  folly  to  re- 
sist with  his  handful  of  men.  The  general  called 
in  one  of  his  men,  and  said,  "  Take  that  sword  and 
drive  it  to  your  heart."  And  the  man  took  the 
weapon,  and  drove  it  to  his  heart,  and  fell  dead. 
He  said  to  another,  "Leap  into  yonder  chasm," 
and  the  man  instantly  obeyed.  Then,  turning  to 
the  messenger,  he  said,  "Go  back  and  tell  your 
king  that  we  have  five  hundred  such  men.  "We  will 
die  but  we  will  never  surrender."  The  messenger 
returned,  and  his  tale  struck  terror  into  the  hearts 
of  the  king's  soldiers,  so  that  they  fled  like  chaff 
before  the  wind.  God  says,  "One  shall  chase  a 
thousand,  and  two  put  ten  thousand  to  flight." 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  189 

193.  Rooted  in  Christ. — ^In  the  country  there 
are  sometimes  seen  great  trees  blown  over  and 
torn  np  by  the  roots,  and  the  occasion  of  it  was 
the  shallow  soil.  So  it  is  with  many  professors — 
they  for  a  while  believe,  but  in  time  of  temptation 
they  fall  away,  because  they  had  not  been  rooted 
in  Christ.  This  points  to  the  inward  and  outward 
growth  of  the  Christian.  The  only  way  to  keep 
from  falling  is  to  grow. 

194.  Perseverance  will  surely  Conquer. — There 
was  a  terribly  wicked  man  who  kept  a  liquor  sa- 
loon, whose  childi'en  I  was  very  anxious  to  draw 
to  my  Sabbath-school.  So  one  day  I  called  on  this 
man  and  said,  "Mr.  Bell,  I  want  you  to  let  your 
children  come  to  the  Sabbath-school."  He  was 
terribly  angry,  said  he  did  not  believe  in  the  Bible, 
school,  or  any  thing  else,  and  ordered  me  to  leave 
the  house. 

Soon  after  I  went  down  again,  and  asked  him  to 
go  to  church,  and  again  he  was  very  angry.  He 
said  that  he  had  not  been  at  church  for  nineteen 
years,  and  would  never  go  again,  and  he  would 
rather  see  his  boy  a  drunkard  and  his  daughter  a 
harlot  than  that  they  should  attend  the  Sabbath- 
school.  A  second  time  I  was  forced  to  leave  the 
house. 

Two  or  three  days  after  I  called  again,  and  he 
said,  "  Well,  I  guess  you  are  a  pretty  good-natured 
sort  of  man  and  different  from  the  rest  of  Chris- 


190  ADDRESSES 

tiaiis,  or  you  would  not  come  back."  I  asTied  him 
what  he  had  to  say  against  Christ  and  if  he  haa 
read  His  hfe;  and  he  asked  me  what  I  had  to  say 
against  Payne's  "Age  of  Eeason,"  and  if  I  had  read 
it.  I  said  I  had  not  read  it;  whereupon  he  said 
he  would  read  the  New  Testament  if  I  would  read 
the  Age  of  Keason.  I  agreed,  though  he  had  the 
best  of  the  bargain.  I  asked  Mr.  Bell  to  come  to 
church  but  he  said  they  were  all  hypocrites  that 
went  to  church.  This  he  would  do,  however ;  I 
might  come  to  his  house,  if  I  liked,  and  preach. 
"  Here  in  this  saloon  ?  "  "  Yes !  but  look  here,  you 
are  not  to  do  all  the  talking;  he  said  that  he  and 
his  friends  would  have  their  say  as  well  as  I.  I 
agreed  that  they  might  have  the  first  forty-five 
minutes,  and  I  the  last  fifteen  of  the  hour,  which 
he  thought  fair,  and  that  was  settled.  The  day 
came  and  I  went  to  keep  my  appointment,  but  I 
never  met  such  a  crowd  as  were  in  that  saloon, 
such  a  collection  of  infidels,  deists,  and  reprobates 
of  all  kinds  I  never  saw  before.  Their  oaths  and 
language  were  horrible.  Some  of  tliem  seemed  as 
if  they  had  come  on  leave  of  absence  from  the  pit. 
I  never  was  so  near  hell  before.  They  began  to 
talk  in  the  most  blasphemous  way;  some  thought 
one  thing,  some  another;  some  believed  there  was 
a  God — others  not;  some  didn't  believe  any  thing. 
They  couldn't  agree,  contradicted  each  other,  and 
very  nearly  came  to  fighting  with  one  another  before 
their  time  had  expired. 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  191 

I  had  bronglit  down  a  little  boy,  an  orphan  with 
me,  and  when  I  saw  and  heard  such  blasphemy  I 
thought  I  had  done  wrong  to  bring  him  there. 
"When  their  time  was  np,  I  said  that  we  Christians 
always  began  service  with  prayer  to  God.  "Hold," 
said  they;  "two  must  be  agreed  first."  "Well, 
here  are  two  of  us."  And  so  I  prayed,  and  then 
the  little  boy  did  so,  and  I  never  heard  a  prayer 
Hke  that  in  all  my  life.  It  seemed  as  if  God  was 
speaking  through  that  little  boy.  With  tears  run- 
ning down  his  cheeks  he  besought  God,  for  Christ's 
sake,  to  take  pity  on  all  these  poor  men;  and  that 
went  to  their  very  hearts.  I  heard  sobs  through- 
out the  hall,  and  one  infidel  went  out  at  this  door 
and  another  at  that;  and  Mr.  Bell  came  to  me  and 
said,  "you  can  have  my  children,  Mr.  Moody."  And 
the  best  friend  that  I  have  in  Chicago  to-day  is  that 
same  Joshua  Bell,  and  his  son  has  come  out  for 
Christ  and  as  a  worker  for  Him. 

195.  Salvation  is  Every  Thing. — The  first  one 
thing  is  to  know  that  you  are  saved  yourself.  If 
a  man  lack  salvation  he  lacketh  every  thing.  A 
wife  said  to  me,  "My  husband  is  every  thing  to  me 
exce])t  one  thing:  he  gets  drunk."  It  seemed  that 
this  alone  would  make  a  hell  on  earth.  A  water- 
pipe  might  be  perfectly  laid,  the  reservoir  in  good 
condition,  and  the  water  in  sufficient  quantity,  but 
if  one  joint  of  the  pipe  were  lacking,  the  whole  was 
useless. 


192  addresses 

196.  Heakt-yeaenings  Providentially  Answered. 
— DuriDg  our  war,  there  was  a  Southern  man  who 
came  over  to  a  Wisconsin  regiment,  saying  he  could 
not  fight  to  uphold  slavery.  Some  time  after,  the 
mail  from  the  north  came  in,  and  all  the  men  got 
letters  from  their  relations,  and  universal  joy  pre- 
vailed. This  Southern  man  said  he  wished  he  were 
dead ;  he  was  most  unhappy,  for  there  were  no  let- 
ters for  him.  His  mother  was  dead,  and  his  father 
and  brothers  would  have  shot  him  if  they  could,  for 
going  against  them.  This  man's  tent-mate  was  very 
sorry  for  his  friend,  and  when  he  wrote  to  his  moth- 
er in  "Wisconsin,  he  just  told  her  all  about  it.  His 
mother  sat  down  and  wrote  to  her  son's  friend.  She 
called  him  her  son,  and  spoke  to  him  like  a  mother. 
She  told  him,  when  the  war  was  over  that  he  must 
come  to  her,  and  that  her  home  would  be  his.  When 
the  letter  reached  the  regiment,  the  chaplain  took  it 
down  to  where  this  man  was  standing,  and  told  him 
it  was  for  him;  but  he  said  it  was  a  mistake,  that  no- 
body would  write  to  him;  he  had  no  friends,  it  must 
be  for  some  one  else.  He  was  persuaded  to  open  it, 
and  when  he  read  it,  he  felt  such  joy.  He  went 
down  the  lines,  saying,  'Tve  got  a  mother!''  When 
afterwards  the  regiment  was  disl)anded,  and  the  men 
were  returning  to  their  homes,  there  was  none  wiio 
showed  so  much  anxiety  as  tbis  man  to  get  to  his 
mother  in  Wisconsin.  There  are  hundreds  of  young 
men  who  want  mothers,  and  any  kindness  done  to 
them  will  not  lose  its  reward. 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  193 

197.  Our  Life  in  Christ. — When  God  converted 
us  He  gave  us  a  new  nature — life  in  Christ — and 
the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit 
against  the  flesh,  and  these  are  contrary  the  one  to 
the  other. 

198.  The  World  not  the  Christian's  Home. — ^You 
must  learn  to  be  like  a  rock  in  the  stream,  past  which 
the  current  flows  rapidly,  but  it  is  unmoved.  You 
are  still  in  the  world,  but  you  are  not  of  the  world. 
You  are  citizens  of  another  world,  and  only  strangers 
and  pilgrims  here. 

199.  Cling  to  the  Rock. — There  is  a  tunnel  over 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  bore  is  so  contracted 
that  there  is  no  room  for  a  man  to  escape  if  two 
trains  were  coming  alongside  of  each  other;  but  the}' 
have  cut  niches  in  the  solid  rock,  into  which  a  per- 
son may  go  and  be  safe.  Two  little  children  were 
caught  thus  one  day — a  sister  and  her  little  brother; 
aiid  after  she  got  her  brother  into  one  of  these  niches 
she  went  to  the  one  opposite,  and  just  as  the  trains 
were  about  to  whisk  past  them  she  cried  to  her  lit- 
tle brother,  "  Cling  close  to  the  rock."  The  trains 
passed  and  they  were  safe  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock. 
This  is  all  you  want,  dear  young  Christians,  cling 
close  to  the  rock  of  your  salvation. 

200.  Whom  Satan  Leaves  Alone. — There  is  a  story 
told  of  a  gentleman  in  our  country  who  had  a  ser- 


194  ADDRESSES 

vant — a  negro — we  call  such  Sambo — and  he  was  a 
converted  man,  and  his  master  used  to  banter  him 
about  his  rehgion,  and  to  say,  "Sambo,  you  are 
always  talking  of  the  conflict;  I  don't  have  any  of 
your  groaning  and  the  conflict  you  talk  of."  One 
day  they  were  out  hunting.  His  master  blazed  away 
at  some  ducks,  and  did  not  mind  the  dead  ones,  but 
sent  Sambo  after  the  wounded  ones.  "  Massa,"  said 
he,  when  he  next  spoke  to  him  of  his  warfare,  "  as 
you  did  not  care  for  the  dead  ducks — you  knew  you 
had  them;  so  Satan  leaves  you  all  quiet.  You  are 
dead,  and  he  lets  you  alone  ;  but  he  is  after  me, 
because  I  am  wounded,  but  alive." 

201.  The  Banner  of  the  Cross. — The  Spanish  au- 
thorities in  Cuba  had  arrested  a  man  who,  though 
born  in  England,  was  a  naturalized  United  States 
citizen.  He  was  charged  with  conspiracy  against 
the  government,  and  ordered  to  be  shot.  But  the 
consuls  of  both  England  and  America  believed  the 
man  to  be  innocent,  and  used  all  the  persuasion  and 
entreaty  in  their  power  for  his  release,  but  the  proud 
Spaniards  haughtily  disregarded  their  petition. 

The  hour  of  execution  had  now  arrived,  and  a 
company  of  soldiers  were  drawn  up  in  line.  The 
condemned  English-American  marched  out  before 
them,  calmly  awaiting  his  fate.  He  stood  at  tbe 
foot  of  the  grave,  already  dug,  his  coat  off,  and  his 
hands  pinioned  behind  him.  The  officer  ordered 
his  men  to  load,  and  at  the  word  "present,"  they 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  195 

brouglit  their  rifles  to  their  shoulders,  awaiting  the 
word  of  command  to  fire. 

In  the  awful  suspense,  suddenly  there  sprang 
forward  from  the  bystanders  the  two  consuls;  the 
one  drawing  from  his  breast  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 
wrapped  it  right  round  the  prisoner,  whilst  the 
other  threw  over  him  the  Union  Jack.  The  consuls 
now  stood  on  either  side,  defying  the  Spaniards,  who 
dared  not  fire  on  the  flags  of  two  of  the  mightiest 
nations  under  heaven,  and  the  man  was  released, 
and  proved  his  innocence  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
authorities.  Oh!  to  be  wrapped  in  the  blood- 
stained banner  of  the  Cross. 

202.  Prayer  Answered. — I  think  it  would  do  us 
good  to  take  the  word  "prayer,"  and  run  through 
the  Bible  tracing  it  out.  Read  about  nothing  else. 
I  think  j-ou  would  be  perfectly  amazed  if  you  took 
up  the  word  "jjrayer,"  and  counted  the  cases  in  the 
Bible  where  people  are  recorded  as  praying,  and 
God  answering  their  prayers. 

203.  Acknowledging  God's  Mercies. — A  young  pas- 
tor, newly  placed  over  a  church,  finding  his  prayer- 
meetings  ill-attended  and  lifeless,  surprised  his  peo- 
ple one  Sabbath,  by  announcing  that  there  would 
be  no  prayer-meeting  that  week,  but  a  meeting  for 
praise.  Curiosity  brought  out  a  large  gathering  of 
his  church;  he  told  them  that  as  they  were  so  reluc- 
tant to  pray,  he  wished  every  one  now  to  look  back 


196  ADDRESSES 

on  his  past  life,  and  see  if  he  did  not  remember 
something  to  thank  God  for,  and  just  to  rise  up 
and  thank  God  for  it.  The  result  was,  that  one 
after  another  rose  up,  thanking  God  for  this  and 
that  mercy,  till  the  hour  was  over  before  they  were 
aware,  and  they  went  away  declaring  it  to  be  the 
best  meeting  they  had  ever  had;  and  not  only  so, 
but  this  proved  to  be  the  beginning  of  a  revival 
among  them. 

204.  Evil  Thoughts. — Some  young  converts  are 
much  distressed  about  evil  thoughts.  Now  the  sin 
lies  not  in  their  coming  into  your  mind,  but  in  your 
harboring  them.  As  one  has  said,  "  We  cannot  help 
the  birds  from  flying  over  our  heads,  but  we  can 
prevent  their  building  their  nests  in  our  hair." 

205.  OuB  BuRDEN-BEAEER. — ^A  little  boy  wished  to 
help  his  father  to  carry  books  to  the  Hbrary.  The 
little  fellow  took  hold  of  a  big  book,  and  the  father 
seeing  him  on  the  stairs  exhausted,  and  unable  to 
go  farther,  took  the  boy  and  the  book  in  his  arms. 
So  Christ  will  carry  us  and  our  burdens  too. 

206.  Abundant  Grace  in  Store. — Christians  are 
all  the  time  praying  God  to  take  the  thorn  out  of 
the  flesh  instead  of  praying  for  more  grace  to  bear 
it.  God  can  give  you  grace  enough  to  bear  any 
affliction.  God  is  anxious  to  give,  but  we  do  not 
ask  Him  for  all  we  want.     He  not  only  saves  us 


AND   BEST    THOUGHTS.  197 

but  He  keeps  us.  There  is  always  more  grace  to 
follow.  This  Mr.  Moody  illustrated  by  an  anecdote 
told  by  Rowland  Hill,  of  a  rich  man  giving  his  pas- 
tor a  large  sum  of  money  to  give  to  the  most  de- 
serving poor  man  in  his  parish.  The  pastor  thought 
it  best  to  give  it  in  small  sums,  so  he  gave  him  $25 
at  a  time,  and  wrote  on  the  envelope:  "There  is 
more  to  follow."  Which  did  the  man  most  good, 
the  $25  or  the  more  to  follow  ?  That  is  grace.  We 
have  a  great  feast  of  many  things,  but  there  is  more 
to  follow.  It  is  humiliation  now,  but  by  and  by  we 
will  see  the  King  in  His  beauty.  It  is  peace  for  the 
past,  grace  for  the  present,  and  glory  for  the  future. 

207.  Union  in  Prayer. — One  night  in  the  inquiry 
room  there  were  four  persons  together,  and  I  found 
that  three  of  them  were  Christians;  they  had  come 
to  seek  a  blessing  upon  the  fourth,  a  fine-looking 
business  man.  After  talking  a  little  with  him,  I 
said,  "  Now,  my  friend,  what  is  the  difficulty  ?  what 
is  it  that  keeps  you  from  Christ  ?  "  His  young  wife, 
who  was  one  of  the  party  said,  "Mr.  Moody,  I  can 
tell  you  what  is  the  trouble;  it  is  his  business;  he  is 
in  the  liquor  business."  I  said,  "Well,  can't  you 
give  it  up  ?  "  The  man  thought  he  would  not  give 
it  up  just  at  once;  in  three  or  four  years  he  would 
make  his  way  out  of  the  business.  But  I  said,  "  You 
can't  afford  to  wait  that  time,  you  may  be  dead  in 
less  than  three  or  four  years."  And  then  I  turned 
to  his  wife  and  said,  "  Have  you  faith  to  pray  that 


198  ADDRESSES 

your  husband  may  give  up  his  business  now  and 
find  the  Saviour  ?  "  She  said  she  had.  I  asked  his 
two  other  friends,  "  Have  you  faith  for  him  ?  "  They 
said,  "  Yes,"  and  we  knelt  down  around  the  man — 
surrounded  him  with  prayer.  The  talk  we  had  had 
with  him  seemed  to  have  little  effect,  but  when  we 
talked  to  God  about  it,  he  broke  down;  there  and 
then  he  resolved  to  give  up  the  liquor  business,  and 
found  peace  and  salvation. 

208.  A  Prisoner  Converted. — I  made  a  visit,  one 
Sunday,  to  the  Tombs  prison  in  New  York,  by  invi- 
tation of  the  chaplain.  After  preaching  to  the  pris- 
oners, I  conversed  personally  with  them  in  their 
cells  and  listened  to  their  stories.  They  were  all 
"innocent"  men,  except  one  who,  with  streaming 
eyes,  said  to  me,  ''My  sins  are  more  than  I  can 
bear."  "Thank  God  for  that,  for  you  are  invited  to 
cast  them  upon  Jesus  who  has  borne  them  for  you." 
"We  prayed  together,  and  the  following  morning  I 
visited  him,  and  the  prisoner,  whose  face  was  lit  up 
with  a  heavenly  smile,  told  how  at  midnight,  while 
he  was  praying,  the  Lord  Jesus  came  into  his  soul 
and  made  him  free. 

209.  Confessing  Christ. — The  blessing  of  heaven 
will  fall  upon  you,  and  you  shall  have  peace  and  joy  if 
you  confess  Christ  before  a  scoffing,  mocking  world. 
I  remember  the  first  time  I  confessed  Christ  my 
knees  smote  together.    I  had  a  little  speech  all 


AND   BEST   THOUGHTS.  199 

made  up,  but  when  I  got  on  my  feet  it  all  went 
from  me.  I  just  stood  up  for  Christ.  Satan  after- 
wards said,  "What  a  fool  you  made  of  yourself!" 
I  have  been  making  a  "  fool "  of  myself  for  twenty 
years. 

210.  A  Child's  Faith. — A  little  girl,  who,  going 
among  strangers,  went  down  on  her  knees  and 
prayed  to  God  thus:  "Lord,  please  make  these 
people  as  kind  to  me  as  my  father  and  mother 
were,"  and  then,  with  a  short  pause,  the  little  child 
burst  out  with  this  joyous,  confident  conclusion: 
"  Of  course,  good,  dear  Lord,  of  course  you'll  do  it." 

211.  No  Ball  or  Theatre  for  Paul. — Paul  never 
would  have  been  invited  to  a  charity  ball,  and  he 
was  so  peculiar  that  he  never  would  have  attended 
a  theatre  except  to  preach  the  Gospel. 

212.  Fearless  Advocacy. — I  have  a  good  deal  of 
respect  for  the  old  woman  who,  in  the  time  of  war, 
started  out  with  a  poker  when  the  enemy  was  ap- 
proaching. She  was  asked  what  she  could  do  with 
that,  and  replied:  "I  can  show  them  which  side  I 
am  on." 

213.  Time  and  Zeal. — Look  how  men  search  for 
wealth.  Men  say  they  cannot  come  to  these  meet- 
ings and  wait  half  an  hour  ;  they  cannot  leave  their 
families  ;  but  let  them  think  they  can  accumulate  a 


200  ADDRESSES 

little  wealth  and  they  can  leave  their  families  six 
months,  and  six  years  if  need  be.  Men  sacrifice 
honor  and  home  in  pursuit  of  wealth,  and  yet  men 
never  accuse  them  of  being  mad.  Look  how  the 
politicians  have  been  in  earnest  for  the  past  two 
weeks.  Men  have  got  hold  of  me  on  the  street  and 
tried  to  drag  me  to  the  polls  to  vote  their  ticket 
— democratic  and  republican  both.  They  did  not 
know  me,  but  it  made  no  difference.  They  were  in 
earnest;  but  let  them  try  to  save  souls  and  we  are 
fanatics. 

214.  Sure  Entrance  to  Heaven. — A  man  told  me 
that  he  had  a  dream  that  he  was  taken  by  the  angels 
to  the  gates  of  heaven  and  they  would  not  let  him 
in.  He  represented  himself  as  having  been  a  Sab- 
bath-school superintendent;  they  did  not  know  him. 
Another  man  came  and  said  he  had  been  an  elder  of 
the  church;  they  did  not  know  him.  Another  told 
of  the  good  he  had  done;  they  did  not  know  him. 
At  last  one  came  crying,  "Blood,  blood,  blood," 
and  the  gates  flew  wide  open.  The  man  awoke 
and  thought  if  he  entered  those  gates  he  must  be 
washed  in  the  blood.     The  blood  must  be  a  token. 

215.  Lost  by  Neglect. — If  any  one  is  lost  in  this 
audience  it  won't  be  on  account  of  Adam's  sin,  and 
yet — it  will  be.  If  I  inherited  consumption  from 
my  parents  I  would  not  be  to  blame  for  it ;  but  if  I 
should  have  overwhelming  proof  that  a  sure  remedy 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  201 

had  been  found  for  the  disease,  and  I  refuse  to  avail 
myself  of  it,  then  I  must  expect  the  consequences  of 
my  neglect.  We  are  all  sinners,  but,  thanks  be  to 
God,  he  has  provided  a  sure  cure,  and  it  is  offered 
to  the  whole  world  for  nothing. 

« 

!  216.  Persevering  Prayer. — A  lady  in  England 
whose  husband  was  an  infidel  determined  to  pray 
for  him  every  day  for  a  year.  She  did  so,  but  there 
was  no  change.  Then  she  made  up  her  mind  to  pray 
for  six  months  longer  for  his  conversion  ;  still  no 
change.  At  the  end  of  that  time  she  said,  "  I'll  pray 
for  him  to  the  end  of  my  life ;  I'll  never  give  him 
up."  That  was  just  the  condition  of  mind  which 
God  wanted  to  bring  her  to.  That  very  day  her 
husband  came  home,  went  to  his  chamber,  fell  on 
his  knees  and  cried,  "  O  Lord,  save  me ! " 

217.  Prayer  During  the  Civil  "War. — During  the 
American  war,  when  husbands,  fathers,  and  broth- 
ers were  away  on  the  battle-fields,  their  wives,  daugh- 
ters, and  mothers  learnt  to  pray,  and  many  an  hour 
was  spent  by  them  in  their  closets  alone  with  God. 
The  results  were  marvellous,  and  that,  too,  in  the  case 
of  the  wickedest  and  most  depraved  men  in  the  army. 

One  day  at  Nashville  a  great,  strong,  wicked-look- 
ing soldier  came  to  me  trembhng.  He  said  he  had 
got  this  letter  from  his  sister,  six  hundred  miles 
away,  and  she  said  that  she  prayed  to  God,  night 
after  night,  that  he  should  be  saved,  and  he  said  he 


202  ADDRESSES 

could  not  stand  to  liear  that,  and  lie  had  come  to 
give  himself  to  Christ;  and  there  and  then  we  knelt 
down  together  in  prajer  to  God,  he  crushed  and 
broken  in  heart. 

218.  Hell  oe  the  Grave. — What  is  the  use  of 
keeping  poor  people's  bodies  a  little  longer  out  of 
the  grave,  and  not  trjing  to  keep  their  souls  out  of 
heU? 

219.  A  LovE-EEAST  Stoey. — One  Thanksgiving  in 
our  mission-school  I  had  appointed  a  kind  of  love- 
feast,  at  which  every  one  was  to  tell  what  he  was 
most  thankful  for. 

One  little  fellow,  who  had  no  other  relative  in  the 
world  but  a  decrepit  old  grandfather,  with  whom  he 
lived  in  the  greatest  poverty,  had  become  a  Chris- 
tian some  time  before,  and,  like  others  of  the  chil- 
dren, was  trying  to  do  a  little  home-missionary  work 
on  his  own  account.  When  his  turn  came  to  teU 
what  he  was  most  thankful  for,  he  said — 

"  There  was  that  big  fellow, '  Butcher  Kilroy,'  who 
acted  so  bad  that  nobodj^  would  have  him,  and  he 
had  to  be  turned  out  of  one  class  after  another,  tiU 
I  was  afraid  he  would  be  turned  out  of  the  school. 
It  took  me  a  long  time  to  get  him  to  come,  and  I 
begged  for  him  to  stay.  I  used  to  pray  to  Jesus 
every  day  to  give  him  a  new  heart,  and  I  felt  pretty 
sure  He  would  if  we  didn't  turn  him  out.  By  and 
by  Butcher  Kilroy  began  to  want  to  be  a  Christian, 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  203 

and  now  lie  is  converted ;  and  that  is  what  makes 
this  Thanksgiving  the  happiest  one  in  all  my  life." 

220.  Peter. — Peter  is  found  in  bad  company.  I 
never  saw  a  backslider  but  commenced  in  that  way. 
First  the  devil  gets  him  asleep,  and  then  he  can  go 
to  the  theatre  and  it  does  not  trouble  him.  He 
will  not  go  to  a  church  where  the  minister  is  too 
strict;  he  will  go  to  a  church  where  the  minister 
goes  to  the  theatre  himself  once  in  a  while.  Peter 
is  in  bad  company,  and  one  young  woman  says  to 
him:  "You  are  His  disciple."  Peter  said:  "I  am 
not,"  changing  his  speech  so  that  he  would  not  talk 
like  a  man  who  had  been  with  Christ.  Another 
said:  "Thou  art  one  of  His  disciples."  "I  am 
not,"  said  Peter,  and  the  cock  crew,  but  his  con- 
science was  not  aroused.  If  there  was  any  time 
that  Christ  needed  Peter  it  was  in  that  hour  when 
Peter  was  sitting  in  the  seat  of  the  scornful.  An- 
other one  says:  "You  are  His  disciple,  for  your 
speech  betray eth  you."  No  one  can  be  with  Christ 
but  his  speech  shows  it.  Now  Peter  gets  angry, 
and  begins  to  curse  and  swear:  "I  never  knew 
Him."  Oh,  how  Christ  won  him  back!  Christ 
might  have  said:  "Have  you  forgotten  that  you 
said  a  few  hours  ago  that  you  would  go  to  death 
for  me?  "  But  He  just  turned  and  gave  Peter  one 
look,  a  look  of  compassion  and  pity.  Peter  caught 
that  eye,  it  was  enough.  He  awoke  from  that  sleep 
and  began  to  realize  what  he  had  done.    He  went 


204:  ADDRESSES 

out  and  wept  bitterly.  No  one  on  this  earth  knows 
what  Peter  suffered  that  night.  How  his  heart 
must  have  sunk  next  day  when  he  heard  Christ 
had  expired.  I  can  imagine  all  those  long  hours 
Christ  was  in  the  grave,  Peter  neither  slept  nor  ate. 
How  tenderly  the  Saviour  dealt  with  him.  The 
first  thing  after  He  had  risen  He  sent  a  message 
to  Peter.  He  had  an  interview  with  Peter  and  I 
can  imagine  Peter  cried  to  Him  to  forgive  him. 
How  Christ  forgave  him  and  made  him  the  cham- 
pion of  the  cross;  made  him  the  great  Apostle  to 
preach  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  His  self-confi- 
dence is  now  all  gone.  Oh,  may  God  take  from 
us  this  self-confidence,  that  we  may  not  be  Hfted 
up,  but  be  humble  and  walk  humbly  with  God.  If 
there  is  a  poor  backslider  here  who  will  come  back 
to  Jesus,  God  will  make  him  more  useful  in  the 
future.  If  there  is  a  poor  wanderer  here  Jesus 
wants  you.  He  will  forgive  you  and  restore  His 
love  in  your  heart. 

221.  God's  Mercy  Free.— Do  you  think  that  God 
offers  the  cup  of  salvation  to  all  men,  and  then,  just 
as  you  are  going  to  drink.  He  snatches  it  away,  and 
says,  "  Oh,  but  you  are  not  one  of  the  elect."  God 
doesn't  do  any  thing  of  the  kind. 

222.  The  City  of  Eefuge. — The  law  was,  if  a 
man  killed  another  accidentally,  the  next  relative 
should  revenge  his  kinsman,  and  the  only  hope  for 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  205 

the  man  was  to  get  into  that  city.  They  were  on 
each  side  of  Jordan,  so  there  could  be  no  obstacles 
in  the  way.  Suppose  I  am  chopping  in  the  woods, 
and  the  axe  sHpped  out  of  my  hands  and  killed  the 
man  I  am  working  with.  I  know  his  brother  will 
be  on  my  track,  and  I  run  as  fast  as  I  can  for  the 
city  of  refuge.  I  soon  hear  his  footsteps  after  me. 
I  leap  over  bridges.  I  don't  stop  to  loiter  by  the 
way.  No  time  for  discussing  which  is  the  best 
denomination.  I  want  to  save  my  life.  The  aven- 
ger is  on  me.  He  has  a  double-edged  sword  bear- 
ing down  upon  me.  I  say,  "If  I  can  only  get 
through  that  gate,  I  will  save  my  Hfe."  Away  I  go. 
A  watchman  standing  on  the  walls  of  the  city  sees 
me  coming,  and  the  news  spreads  through  the  city 
that  there  is  a  poor  fugitive  coming.  The  inhabi- 
tants stand  on  the  walls,  and  they  see  the  avenger 
bearing  down  upon  me.  They  cry:  "Run!  flee  for 
thy  hfe !  run !  **  At  last  I  go  leaping  through  the 
gates  of  the  city.  One  moment  outside;  the  next 
in.  The  avenger  cannot  touch  me.  Did  you  ever 
stop  to  think  that  death  is  on  your  track?  Did 
you  ever  stop  to  think  how  near  he  may  be  to  you  ? 
A  young  man  from  one  of  the  hotels  heard  my  lec- 
ture on  the  Prophet  Daniel.  On  the  next  Wednes- 
day night  he  was  talking  about  the  lecture.  On 
Thursday  night  he  was  found  dead  in  his  bed.  I 
hope  he  was  in  the  city  of  refuge.  If  he  was,  he  is 
safe  for  time  and  eternity.  Death  is  on  our  track; 
if  we  are  in  the  city  of  refuge  we  are  safe.     God 


206  ADDRESSES 

has  provided  a  city  of  refuge  for  every  one,  that  is, 
Christ. 

223.  Satan  Asleep. — The  devil  can  do  most  any 
thing  with  a  man  when  he  gets  asleep.  A  man 
dreamt  he  was  travelling,  and  came  to  a  little 
church,  and  on  the  cupola  of  that  church  there  was 
a  devil  fast  asleep.  He  went  along  further,  and 
came  to  a  log  cabin,  and  it  was  surrounded  by 
devils  all  wide  awake.  He  asked  one  of  them  what 
it  meant;  said  the  devil:  "I  will  tell  you.  The  fact 
is,  that  whole  church  is  asleep  and  one  devil  can 
take  care  of  all  the  people,  but  here  are  a  man  and 
woman  who  pray,  and  they  have  more  power  than 
the  whole  church."  When  God  tells  us  to  watch 
we  must  watch. 

224.  Moody  and  the  Infidel. — One  day  I  was 
holding  a  meeting  in  the  north  of  England,  when 
one  of  the  managers  of  the  affair  came  to  me  com- 
plaining of  a  man  down  in  the  lower  part  of  the  hall. 
"  That  man,"  said  he,  "  ought  to  be  put  right  out  of 
here.  He's  a  rank  infidel.  He  is  president  of  the 
infidel  club  in  this  town." 

I  said,  "  No !  we  will  not  put  the  man  out.  I  will 
go  down  and  speak  to  him,"  and  forthwith  went  to 
the  infidel  and  sat  down  alongside  of  him.  "My 
friend,"  I  said,  "can  I  do  any  thing  to  interest  you 
in  your  soul's  welfare  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  as  you  can,"  repHed  the  in- 


AND   BEST   THOUGHTS.  207 

fidel,  in  sarcastic  tones.  "  I  don't  know  as  I  have 
got  a  soul  in  the  first  place,  and  I  am  not  going  to 
!^be  interested  until  I  do.  Now,  if  you  can  prove  to 
me  that  I  have  got  a  soul  then  it  will  be  time 
enough  to  talk  about  being  interested,  and  not 
before." 

I  said,  "Well,  my  friend,  we  won't  spend  any 
time  now  arguing  that  question,  but  will  you  do 
this  for  me  ?  Will  you  kneel  down  alongside  of  me 
and  pray  ?  "  "  No !  "  said  the  man  bluntly,  "  I'll  do 
nothing  of  the  sort.  I  don't  see  the  use  of  it.  I 
don't  know  who  I  am  going  to  pray  to.  If  you  tell 
me  that  you  are  going  to  pray  to  God,  I  tell  you 
that  I  don't  believe  there  is  a  God,  and,  therefore,  I 
don't  see  any  sort  of  use  in  praying  to  something 
that  don't  exist.  But,"  added  the  infidel,  "if  you 
think  there  is  any  use  in  it,  go  ahead  and  pray.  I 
don't  care,  go  ahead  and  try  it  on  me.  It  won't  do 
any  harm,  anyhow." 

I  knelt  down  beside  the  infidel  and  prayed,  while 
he,  with  sneers  depicted  in  his  face,  held  his  head  up 
high  to  show  that  such  a  proceeding  could  have  no 
effect  on  him.  I  heard  no  more  from  the  man  until 
some  weeks  later,  when,  while  preaching  at  Wick, 
in  Scotland,  the  infidel  met  me  at  the  close  of  the 
service,  and  said,  "Well,  now,  Mr.  Mood}^  do  you 
see  how  that  prayer  of  yours  worked?  It  didn't  do 
a  bit  of  good.  I  am  just  the  same  man  as  I  was  be- 
fore, and  maybe  a  little  worse.  It  has  had  no  effect 
whatever."     Some  months  after  I  returned  to  Liv- 


208  ADDRESSES 

erpool  one  morning  I  received  a  letter  from  a  law- 
yer living  in  the  same  town  as  the  infidel,  which 
stated  that  the  infidel  had  actually  been  converted, 
and  the  last  accounts  I  had  from  that  quarter  show 
that  our  friend  has  not  only  held  fast  to  the  new 
faith,  but  he  has  now  over  seventeen  other  infidels 
who  were  members  of  the  same  atheistical  club. 

225.  A  Western  Judge. — When  I  was  quite  a 
young  man  a  lady  came  to  me  and  requested  me  to 
talk  to  her  husband.  I  felt  it  was  no  use,  for  he  was 
a  prominent  western  judge  of  sceptical  sentiments, 
and  more  than  a  match  for  me  in  argument.  But 
yielding  to  her  persistent  entreaties  I  joroceeded  to 
the  judge's  office.  The  old  man  laughed  at  me.  I 
succeeded  in  obtaining  from  him  a  promise  that 
when  he  was  converted  he  would  write  and  let  me 
know.  Special  prayer  was  offered  for  him  at  the  Ful- 
ton street  prayer-meeting  and  other  places.  Some 
time  afterward,  when  I  returned  to  town,  I  met  the 
judge,  who  told  me  of  his  conversion.  One  night 
his  wife  went  to  prayer-meeting  and  during  her 
absence  he  began  to  think,  *' Suppose  my  wife  is 
right;  that  there  is  a  hell  and  a  heaven,  and  that 
my  children  are  going  to  heaven  and  I  am  not." 
Conviction  seized  him  and  he  commenced  to  pray. 
He  retired  before  his  wife  returned  and  pretended 
to  be  asleep  while  she  prayed  for  him.  Rising  early 
in  the  morning  he  told  her  he  did  not  feel  very  well, 
and  without  waiting  for  breakfast,  proceeded  to  his 


AND    BEST    THOUGHTS.  209 

office'.  He  told  his  clerks  they  might  have  a  hohday, 
and  shutting  himself  up  in  the  office  prayed  that 
God  for  Christ's  sake  would  take  away  the  great 
load  of  guilt,  and  soon  the  burden  rolled  off.  He 
told  his  wife  that  he  was  a  new  man,  and  they  both 
kneeled  in  prayer,  thanking  God  for  his  great  good- 
ness. Upon  returning  to  America  I  inquired  if  the 
judge  stood  firm.  I  was  informed  that  he  had  passed 
gloriously  from  earth  and  was  now  standing  at  the 
right  hand  of  God. 

226.  Pra-Yee  a  Substitute  for  Fault-finding. — "If 
things  do  not  always  please  you,  don't  complain — 

just  pray  !  " 

227.  Everlasting  Eemorse  the  Sinner's  Portion. — 
Do  you  think  that  Judas,  after  nearly  1,900  years, 
has  forgotten  that  he  betrayed  his  Saviour  for  thirty 
pieces  of  silver?  Do  you  think  that  Cain,  after 
5,000  years,  has  forgotten  the  pleading  look  of  his 
brother  AbeV  when  he  slew  him  ? 

228.  Total  Abstinence.  —  I  would  rather  have 
my  right  hand  cut  off  than  touch  the  stuff  before 
my  children.  The  friends  that  have  been  lost  are 
so  many  as  should  rouse  us  to  be  as  one  man  in 
sweeping  the  drink  from  our  tables.  If  you  want 
me  to  sign  the  pledge,  I  will  take  any  pledge  you 
may  bring;  I  never  touch  drink,  and  never  intend 
to  do  so.     Now  for  the  other  side !     Some  temper- 

13 


210  ADDRESSES   AND   BEST    THOUGHTS. 

ance  men  make  a  grand  mistake,  and  that  is — they 
lug  in  the  question  every  time  they  get  the  chance. 
Every  thing  in  its  own  place !  If  I  go  to  a  prayer- 
meeting  I  do  not  want  to  hear  temperance  or  the 
higher  Christian  Hfe.  There  is  a  man  who  comes 
to  onr  noon-day  meetings;  no  matter  what  the  sub- 
ject is,  he  gets  up  and  talks  every  day  on  the  higher 
life.  A  friend,  in  going  out  of  the  meeting  one  day, 
said  to  me,  "  I  like  a  fiddle  with  a  thousand  strings, 
not  with  this  one  of  higher  hfe  played  on  every  day." 
And  so  it  is  with  temperance. 


TOPICAL    INDEX. 


Abstinence,  Total.  228. 

Adversity,  140. 

Advice,  29. 

Advocacy,  212. 

Affliction,  22. 

Backsliding,  109,  113,  115. 

Ball,  211. 

Banner,  201. 

Barabbas,  The  Story  of,  179. 

Betrayal,  The,  167. 

Bible,  1,  3,  67. 

Biography,  116. 

Blindness,  7. 

Blood,  54:,  55,  68,  72,  105,  147. 

187. 
Burden-bearer,  205. 
Calvary,  93,  103,  144,  151,  164. 
Character,  43. 
Cheerfulness,  189. 
Christ,  5,  19,  20,  23,  24,  25,  79. 

101,  127,  142,  146,  172,  158, 

191,  197,  209. 
Christian,    88,   110.   185,  112, 

119,  107,  136,  208. 
Complaining,  11. 
Confession,  174,  198. 
Conversion,  9,  10,  12,  13,  48, 

98,  102,  170.  209. 
Cross,  70,  201. 

Death,  37,  49,  56,  76,  111,  169. 
Devils,  124. 
Discouragement,  89. 
Doubt,  166. 


Earnestness,  35,  36,  42,  44,  45. 

34. 
Effort,  87. 
Election,  135. 
Eleventh  Hour,  178. 
Elijah,  and  the  Priests  of  Baal, 

180. 
Enemies,  123,  157. 
Enthusiasm,  190. 
Eternity,  143. 
Excuses,  125,  126,  131. 
Faith,  50,  71,  176,  210. 
Fall,  The,  106. 
Fault-finding,  226. 
Feeling,  58,  14. 
Formalism,  80. 
Good  News,  12,  132,  183. 
Gospel,  60,  122,  129. 
Grace,  165,  206. 
Grave,  218. 
Half-heartedness,  27. 
Heart-yearnings,  196. 
Heaven,  59,  62,  63,  64,  65,  78, 

100,  139,  145,  214. 
Hell,  14,  83,  84,  218. 
Home,  198. 
Home-sickness,  161. 
Humility,  188. 
Hypocrites,  57. 
Indifference,  32,  77. 
InfideUty,  224. 
Invitation,  153. 
Judgment,  121. 


212 


TOPICAL   INDEX. 


Last  Call,  46,  104. 

Laziness,  97. 

Law,  117,  118,  120,  133. 

Lies,  95,  130. 

Life,  31,  197. 

Looking  unto  Jesus,  191. 

Lost,  15,  16,  114. 

Love,  22,  51,  158,  173. 

Love-feast,  219. 

Loyalty,  90. 

Mephibosheth,  The  Story  of, 

175. 
Mercies,  God's,  203,  221. 
Morality,  74, 

Naaman,  The  Story  of,  182. 
Nearness  to  Christ,  91. 
Neglect,  215. 
Obedience,  192. 
Omnipotence,  6. 
Omnipresence,  61. 
Omniscience,  8. 
Parental  Instruction,  160. 
Pardon,  152. 
Paul,  211. 
Perseverance,  194. 
Portion,  227. 
Prayer,  85,  202,  207,  217,  225, 

226. 
Prejudice,  134. 
Procrastination,  92,  IbT. 
Beasou,  150. 
Reconciliation,  6G. 
Redemption,  163.  T77. 
Refuge,  City  of,  ?,i2. 
Remorse,  227, 
Repentance,  9i, 


Revivals,  38,  39,  40,  41. 

Reward,  184. 

Rock,  198. 

Salvation,  159,  195. 

Satan,  75,  148,  168,  153,  200, 

223. 
Sceptics,  67. 

Seeking  Christ,  34,  69,  21. 
Self-confidence,  86. 
Self-knowledge,  28. 
Self-righteousness,  47. 
Shepherd,  20. 
Sin,  155. 
Sinners,  26,  52,  73,  108,  141 

156,  173,  227. 
Sleep,  77. 
Soul,  17,  18. 
Spirit,  2. 

Temperance,  99,  149. 
Thanksgiving,  82. 
Theatre,  211. 
Thief.     The,  171. 
Thoughts,  Evil,  204. 
Time,  213. 
Unbehef,  81. 
Unconcern,  186. 
Union,  53,  207. 
Unitarianism,  128. 
Universalism,  154. 
Watch-night,  4. 
Widow's  Son,  The,  181. 
Wisdom,  30. 
Work,  33,  338. 
World.  9Cv  1J.S. 
Zeal,  2x3. 


Agents  Wanted. 


OR   THE   HEART   UNVAILED. 

PART  1.  Christ  and  the  SouI.—Dt.  Gillett  and  R.  McGonegal. 

"      2.  The  School  of  the  Heart.— Rey.  D.  M.  Reeves. 

"     3.  The  Candle  of  Life.— Dv.  Van  Cleef. 

"     4,  JohnBunyan's  View  of  Life.— Dr.  Cheever. 

"     5.  Bunyan's  Character  and  Works.— Br.  W.  M.  Puncheon. 

"     6.  Gotthold's  Emblems. 

"     7.   Value  of  Emblems. — Dr.  Crosby. 

To  illustrate  by  a  SERIES  OF  PICTURES,  the  strange  experiences  of  the 

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XiEGTURSSSi 

ON 

CHRISTIAN  THEOLOGY, 

BY 

GEORGE  CHRISTIAN  KNAPP,  D.  D. 

Prof,  of  Theology  in  the  University  of  Halle, 

TRANSLATED  BY 

Ii£OXARI>  ^WOODS,  Jr.,  D.  15,, 

President  of  Bowdoin  College,  Brunswick,  Maine, 

TWENTIETH  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


NEW  YORK: 
aV.  TIBBALS  &  SON,  145  Nassau  St 
1872. 


Fi^rst.  It  was  the  ultimate  object  of  this  eminent  servant  of 
Christ  in  these  Lectures  to  promote  vital  piety  and  practical  re-» 
ligion,  even  by  his  more  theoretical  -vpritings. 

Second.  He  assumed  at  the  very  outset  of  his  theological 
course  the  principle  that,  lead  where  they  may,  the  decisions  of 
inspiration  are  to  be  fearlessly  followed.  In  this  he  became 
more  and  more  confirmed,  the  more  he  saw  of  the  uncertainty, 
pride,  and  blindness  of  human  reason  in.  the  speculations  of  con« 
temporary  philosophers. 

Tliird.  The  Holy  Scriptures  and  Christian  experience  were 
the  source  from  which  he  derived  the  elements  of  his  system. 

Fourth.  He  endeavored  to  illustrate  the  doctrines  of  revela- 
tions by  analogies  from  classical  writers,  by  showing  to  what 
ideas  in  the  human  mind  they  correspond,  and  what  wants  of  ova 
nature  they  are  intended  to  meet,  and  by  giving  a  history  of  the 
opinions  entertained,  and  the  various  learned  distinctions  adopt- 
ed respecting  them  in  ancient  and  modern  times.  He  then  en- 
deavored to  combine  these  doctrines  thus  illustrated,  into  a  tho* 
roug:h  system^ 


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Stier's  Words  of  Lord  Jesus 


"We  have  now  published  a  carefully  revised  edition  of 

Dr.  STIER'S 

WORDS  OF  LORD  JESUS. 

THE 

RISEN  SAVIOR  AND  THE  ANGELS, 

A  Work  held  in  the  highest  estimation  by  the  Theologicdt 
World. 

Under  thethorough  aud  scholarly  revision  of  the  eminent  the- 
ologians, 

Dr.  JAS.  STRONG  and  Prof.  HENRY  B.  SMITH, 

OP  THE   UNION   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINAUY, 

3  vols.,  Royal   8vo,      -       -       -       -       .        $13  00 
A  LIBERAL  DISCOUNT  TO  MINISTEilS- 

UNIVERSALLY  ENDORSED. 

Dr.  McCOSH  says: 

Princeton,  Dec.  l870. 
Stier'.i  "Words  of  Lord  Jesus  and  Angels  need  no  commenda- 
tions from  me.    It  is  known  to  Biblical  scholars  all  over  the 
\5rorld,  and  is  highly  appreciated  by  them.    It  is  eminently  fitted 
to  enable  us  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  teaching  of  our  Lord. 

Jas.  McCosh, 
President  of  Princeton  College, 
endorsed  by 

"Willis  Lord,  D.  D.,  IJniversity  of  "Worcesl  er, 

Enoch  Pond,  D.  D.,  Bangor  Theological  Seminary. 

T>.  P.  Kidder,  D.  D.,  Garrett  Biblical  Institute. 

Samuel  C.  Bartlett,  D.  D.,  Chicago  Theological  Seminary. 

E  G.  Robinson,  D.  D.,  Rochester  Theological  Seminary. 

G.  W.  Northrup,  D.  D.,  Baptist  Theological  Seminary,  Chicago. 

E.  S.  Foster,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Pres.  Drew.  Theological  Seimiuary. 

Rev.  C.  S.  Robinson,  D.  D.,  New  York  City. 

Bby.  Wm.  R.  Williams,  D.  D.,  New  York, 


Date  Due 


